peace
by saphira e.sparrow
Summary: there were many ways Andrew could have been saved, but the root was his lack of a one true friend. waring Oc, romance, and edited cussing
1. a day in my worthless life

**Authors note: okay I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews. Especially ****sarahstoletheworld****. I understand that Andrew is an unbalanced teenager but I couldn't find the words to express it. After listening to some sad music, my muse flared. Hope it's an improvement, even just a little. I will also explain my OC's name later. **

*.*.*

(Andrew's pov)

Okay time to get started, I thought to myself as I set up my new camera. Well it really was a beat up old hunk of plastic that I got at a dive pawn shop, but it would do the job. Plus it was like me. A little busted but could still do things.

I had just finished setting it on a tripod when Richard (my dad) began to try and force his way into my room.

"Why is this door locked?" he demanded, his words slurred from alcohol. It was 7:30 in the morning on a weekday and he was already drunk and raging. Money or not he needed to get his sh*t together and take care of his family.

I'd do it myself if I was qualified to do anything or had a car to get there. But I didn't, so I was stuck with him.

"Open this door. Listen to me," he growled behind my door. "No, you're drunk," I said as I focused the lens on my door. "I'm what? Excuse me. I said, unlock the door," he said slowly like I was child. Although it was probably more because he had to work over the drink to sound intimidating.

"It is 7:30 in the A.M. and you're drunk," I told him. "Okay, you don't tell me if I'm drunk or not you little sh*t-" he hissed.

"Are you," I challenged. Figures, I was only brave when there was a locked door between me and his fists. Face to face I was mute and paralyzed, while he whaled on me in one of his drunken rages. There was a pause. He knew I was right but he'd never admit it like a man he claimed I'd never be.

"What are you doing in there?" he asked changing the subject. Suddenly, he slammed into the door, probably with his shoulder trying to get in, which made the mirror shudder violently. I took a deep breath.

"I'm filming this," I said. "Huh, what?" he asked confused. It wasn't that hard to understand, but he was obviously too drunk to grasp simple sentences. Hope he got the next one.

"I bought a camera and I'm filming everything from here on out."

No smart-ass comment, just heavy irregular footsteps away from my door. I didn't intend to show any of the footage to an officer or report abuse. I didn't have to, the fear of possibility it cause the rat bastard was enough to make him rethink a few things. Namely beating me up for all the 'unfair sh*t' in his life.

Besides, even if I did show it to anybody he'd find some way to get out of it.

There was one more thing I wanted to film before Matt came and got me. This one was the most important. I wanted to remember my mom the way she was now, before the cancer ate away everything good about her.

She was getting worse; the cancer was relentless on her. But she hadn't given up yet, she was fighter; my hero. My mom was still beautiful, she just looked tired all the time.

"Mom," I called softly. She moved a little and her eyes fluttered open. I got my eyes from my mom, and even though she was sick they always shined with life and happiness when she saw me. That's the look I wanted to keep forever in case she left me. To always have the warm feeling that spread through me when they looked at me.

"Say hello to my new camera for me," I laughed. "Who's the audience?" she teased. "Just the millions of people watching right now," I joked. Her eyes widened in fake surprise. "Do I look awful?" she asked seriously.

"No, no, mom. You look great," I told her. Hopefully she didn't notice how my voice broke a little. It wasn't a lie, she always would be to me. But that didn't make it any easier to see her leave me. Call me a momma's boy but I loved her more than anything on earth . She _saw _me. She believed in me, even though I did absolutely nothing to earn it. She said I would go far outside Seattle and make something great of myself. When she was gone, I'd have no one. No one to care, worry, or believe. On the day she died, I'd lose more my mom. I'd lose my best friend and the only person whoever gave a damn about me. And sitting around watching her day after day waste away was more torture then hell or Richard could ever give.

"It's a nice camera, sweetie," she said fondly. "Thanks mom," I replied.

*.*.*

I hadn't hoped in Matt's car five minutes, after he picked me up for school before he asked. "So, um… should I ask about the camera?" Matt asked, awkward.

How do I explain to him it was my only insurance to keep Richard from beating me up too much? His dad was mines brother, but they stopped talking to each other after Richard lost his job. It had been easier when we were kids. Back before puberty, high school cliques, and the beatings that made me a recluse, and made me unable to talk to anyone as easy as I use to.

Matt carpooling me was only provoked by my uncle's guilt conscious by not doing anything to help my mom because he'd have to talk with Richard. And I could not fault him for avoiding him. The only friend I had was my mom, and she was either too tired or Richard was hovering over her. So, I was left alone a lot of the time.

"I don't know. I'm…I'm filming things now. I'm filming everything," I said lamely. Wow, that was really the best I could come up with? God, I am such a loser. "Filming everything?" he asked. "Yeah."

"Okay well, if you're gonna be filming everything, then may as well put on a good show," he said cranking up the volume on the radio, and starting singing along to Jessie J's Price Tag.

"Why is everyone so obsessed. Money can't buy us happiness," he sang high pitched. "Wow."

"Can we all slow down and enjoy right now. Everybody look to the left. Everybody look to the right." It wasn't bad enough he was singing, now he doing hand motions. "Make it stop," I pleaded, but couldn't stop the laughter or the smirk that spread across my face.

"Ain't about the Cha-Ching Cha-Ching. Ain't about the Ba-Bling Ba-Bling. We just wanna make the world dance. Forget about the Price Tag!" He was so stupid!

"Have you ever read any Arthur Schopenhauer?" he asked. Only my cousin would want an actual answer to these types of questions. "No, what is Arthur Schopenhauer?" I asked, feigning interest. "He's um, a philosopher I'm reading at the moment," he said.

"For school?" I inquired. I already knew the answer. My cousin was nerdy like that. "No, no. Uh, basically, he said that human beings have to realize themselves as beings of pure will." Wow philosophy 101 on the go. "Right and?"

"Said that all emotional and physical desires can never be fulfilled," he explained. "So basically, you're telling me to give up on life," I summed up. Had to hand it to my cousin. He sure knew how to make the mornings all warm and bright. "Yes," he replied seriously, then looked at me, and we broke out laughing.

But it really wasn't that funny. That was what I thought sometimes. Richard yelled at me for what he called 'goofing around'. I didn't have a car so I couldn't get to my job if I had one. I wasn't failing school, but also wasn't the valedictorian, and I hadn't applied to any colleges because there wasn't any money for it. To put it simply; I was on the fast track to nowhere and no one cared.

I felt invisible almost my entire short life. The only way I proved to myself that I existed was by having someone see me. My mom saw me, but time was running out for her. Once she was gone I would go too. The whole reason for my buying the camera was so after mom left, I could watch me. How pathetic was I? That I had to watch myself go through my sh*tty and f*cked up excuse of a life just to prove to myself I was alive in this world, even if it was as a punching bag.

*.*.*

After parking the car, I started to get out before noticing Matt hadn't done the same. "Are you not coming in?" I asked. "I'm gonna hang back awhile, okay?" he said. Like my approval would stop you.

"You're gonna be late to first period," I warned. "Yeah, pick you up after seventh period," he said turning up the radio. Guess that was my cue to leave then. Subtle, really subtle. Wish I could be that blasé with school and my classes. But if I lagged behind even slightly, Richard would have my ass. Camera be damned.

*.*.*

"This is my school…" I said, filming the hallway full of the student body. "I guess." Sure I went to this school but I had done nothing to make it in anyway mine. There was nothing here that would say I had been here after graduation.

Some random guy stuck out his tongue out and yelled at my camera. I wondered about people sometimes. Why they did the things they did was seriously confusing.

"Hey, hey kid!" some random girl shouted at me. "Vote for Steve for president," she said excitedly as she shoved a flyer at me. This wouldn't a very good campaign if your associates stampeded over the voters.

*.*.*

"This is where I eat lunch, on the bleachers. That's the football team, the cheerleaders…and other people," I directed awkwardly. One half of the bleachers was full of people spaced out in their cliques. The other half was empty save for one person at the top. They were plugged into an iPod, hunched over a book, and didn't even glance up as I sat down. These things weren't exactly quiet either.

I set the camera up so it could face me and keep filming. Outside of my regular beat downs from Richard and various bullies, my life was pretty dull. But a bit of normalcy was always refreshing. And it was doing its job.

*.*.*

"This is my locker,'' I said. It like everywhere else in this place was decked out in vote for Steve posters. Jesus, what did he have to campaign for? He was the quarterback and insanely popular. This whole thing was outrageous.

Suddenly, someone wrapped their big beefy arm around my neck, and jerk me backwards, making me yelp. While another yanked my camera out of my hands. No surprise it was the supreme douchebag of school: Sean.

"What is this?" he yelled, shoving his weasely face into my camera. Definitely going to delete that, when I get home.

"You're on film," his beefy henchman taunted me, before smacking me in the face. And did it again with the taunt that I looked pretty. I tried to pry his arms off my neck, but every attempt seemed to fail and the slaps to my face only came harder each time leaving a burning sting to my cheek. I felt my face heat up into a deep shade of red as students began to crowd around us to watch. All of them were either laughing at me pain or sneering at me like I was completely deserving of whatever torment Sean deemed fit to give me.

Finally, I got the gorilla for hire off of me.

"Come on Sean give it back," I demanded. "You want your camera? This piece of sh*t form 2004. Here you go. Here she is," he said as he set it on the ground. And then _kicked_ it over.

"Guys!" I shouted, catching it before it hit the wall. "Ass****s!" I picked it up and checked it over. It had some new scratches, but it was still okay. I looked down the hall as those d*cks ran off, laughing their asses off like they did something clever.

There was some hot Goth chick leaning against the pillar. She stood out to me not because of her dark clothes, but because she was the only one not making of me, but rather glaring after those idiots. It was nice to see someone not jeering fun at me. But it still p*ssed me off that she just stood by and let my ass get handing to me, while everyone laughed at Sean's victim of the day.

Probably plotting some hell to befall them, like any Goth chick liked to do. Well the dark side can have them. If I got in trouble, Richard would kill me. Maybe, literally.

*.*.*

"There's a party tonight," Matt said on the way home. "Okay," I murmured. Why tell me this when you know that I don't party is a part of the little info you have about me. "Haven Hills," he said.

"I thought that place was closed?" I questioned. "It's abandoned, yeah," he agreed. "You don't wanna go?" he asked. "No." Richard blew his top when he_ thought_ I was up to something. No need to push the raging moron.

Matt sighed exasperated. "When's the last time you went to a party?' he asked. "I don't go to parties," I stated. I really don't, not like normal high schoolers. Who get their kicks by baking in drugs and drowning themselves in drinks.

I wasn't attracted to either. I was the whitest kid in school which was ironic because of my dark, sh*tty home life. But clearly that excuse wasn't gonna fly with Matt, who seemed frustrated with me.

"You're a senior," he argued. What did that have to do with anything? It was the same lame ass excuse freshman used to look cool to the seniors. The titles changed but the people and menu didn't. But I had to say something to shut him up.

"I'll think about it, okay?" I said. "Okay, but when we go there tonight," he started. Why did I even try? No matter what I said, he'd drag me to this stupid party anyway. "Andrew, can I give you like a pro-tip?"

Oh cousinly advice with the wanna-be philosopher. Oh joy. "What?" I asked. "Maybe you should leave your camera at home," he said. Not gonna happen. If I left this thing out of my sight, Richard would take it and pawn it off for beer money, then get drunk and beat me up.

"Why?" I asked, the hostility of my thoughts creeping into my words. "Because it's a little weird," he said. And discussing dead philosophers was a normal thing now, was it? "It serves a purpose," I defended. "I'm just trying to be a good cousin, here, okay?" he said. It took everything I had to not glare at him.

_Now_ he wanted to be a good cousin. Right when we were on the last leg of high school, then he'd go off to college and leave me here to deal with a dying mother and abusive ass of a father, while I struggled on a daily basis to prove to myself I was even here! Yeah great family support, there cuz.

"This is me being your friend. Andrew, I'm telling you, you should probably not take the camera to the party," he said. A friend now, huh? You're not my friend. You're barely even family. You leave me all the time for your real friends. That being said…thought; you have no right telling me to do anything. At. All.

*.*.*

Once I got home, I plugged in my camera into my computer and downloaded the day's footage. Then pulled out a light attachment for my camera and flipped it on and off. If I was being forced to go to a party, in some cases this would be a kidnapping, I was going to do it my way, the hell with Matt's so called 'cousinly advice'.

This camera was the only source of happiness I had had in almost forever. Then my door flew open, slamming against the wall. Happiness over.

I sat in my sit ridged as a post, eyes focused on the wall in front of me as Richard stomped into my room. "What do you want?"

No sooner had the words left my lips; he hit me hard over the head. Instinctually, I raised my arms to shield my head from more hits. But he grabbed my hoodie instead and hauled me out of my sit then threw me to the ground.

I landed heavily on my shoulder. That was going to make a lovely bruise later. Joy. "When I say open that door, you open that door, get it?" he hissed. I just nodded my throbbing head. Just agreed with him and he'll leave. Sure enough the monster having been satisfied with his pound of flesh, stalked off with the statement, "Finish you G**D*** homework."

Shakily, I got back into my chair, and turned the camera light off. A wave of hopelessness washed over me, making my breathes come out unsteady.

I was not going to cry. I _was not_ going to _cry_. I was just going to feel very miserable for a very long time.

*.*.*

"Matt, are you sure it's here?" I asked. My opinion of this party changed, I needed to get out of the house, away from Richard even if it was to a rave with beer and drugs.

"Just calm down okay? We're almost there," Matt said. We turned a corner and suddenly the dark night was lit up with headlights and spotlights, with the heavy thumping of a bass line.

"Oh wow, look a rave," I said sarcastically. "Oh wow, look a nerd with a camera," Matt grumbled. If he was just going to talk behind my back he could have left me at home, and saved me some vague sense of dignity.

Okay I take back what I said about wanting to be out of the house. At least there I could hide away. But here there was no escape from the hordes of rude as hell people as they shoved, bumped, and_ humped _me as I forced my way through the crowd trying to keep up with Matt.

"Look, don't follow me around all night, okay?" Matt asked. No, not okay. You forced me into coming here. You can't just leave me here. What happened to all that 'I'm-your-cousin-I'm-your-friend' sh*t you were throwing around in the car. I mean I know it was bullsh*t, but damn it couldn't you mean it for once.

"What do you mean? I thought you wanted me to come with you," I said. "I did, I did. But just go and do your own thing for once okay?" he asked. If I wanted to be doing my own thing I'd be home, instead of at a rave you forced me to come to as part of your 'big cousin project'.

"Look, just have a beer, talk to people," he unhelpfully suggested. "I don't drink," I shouted. But he was already gone, leaving me alone in a sea of glow sticks and animal printed, sweat cover bodies.

God, I wanted to go home. The only upside to this was the colored lights made for some great film shots. It was really pretty. "Hey! Hey! What are you filming for?" a blonde girl, with a new state of the art camera shouted to me over the music.

"Uh…I don't…uh um." I so cannot talk to people in any casual sense. "What? I can't hear you," she yelled while gesturing to her ear and shaking her head. "I'm just filming," I said. Really that's all it was, there was no purpose behind it.

"Oh, oh. Cool, cool. I'm filming for my blog. You should check it out sometime," she said. "Andrew…Andrew!" Matt yelled coming over. Maybe he was ready to leave.

"Oh hey Casey," he greeted. Or not. I need to stop hoping for things. They never happened, and like a fool I never learned. "How you doing?" he asked. "I'm good," she answered. Great, just great. My cousin aka my ride home had to have a crush on the one chick that would most likely stay for the whole damn rave filming for her blog. Just my non-instinct luck.

"Pretty lame," he said. She looked at him, amused. "Why's it lame?" she asked, turning her camera to him. "You know, Young said parties are just people's way of seeking wide spread validation. You know? I'm not one of the clambers to be cool, you know?' he asked. Wow, my cousin tries to woo women with philosophy. No wonder he can be such a d*ck.

"Way to put an analytical psychology spin on this barn party, Matt. It's awesome. Awesome," she said before walking away. "You're awesome," he shouted back at her. "Hey Matt, what did Young say about glow sticks?" I teased. He just smirked and flipped me off while I laughed.

Later, I was filming around this dancer, who wore a leopard top and ripped leggings. That was when things went downhill. "Are you filming my girlfriend?" a big guy stepped up and growled at me. He was clearly drunk or high or both. At his accusation, I found it to be the worst time to not be able to talk, this guy was not stable.

"Yes or no?" he hissed. What was this guy's problem? I hadn't touched his girl, and she wasn't doing anything too vulgar. But there is no reasoning with a drunk. Mission impossible, anyone? "No, I was not doing anything. I'm just filming the party," I explained. Apparently this wasn't what he wanted to hear because next thing I know he's leaning into my space.

"I should break your b*tch ass nose, you know that?" he growled. Can't say I do, but then you had I semi-reason to come at me, then anyone I ever meet. "No, I wasn't…" I tried. Dude shut up and ran. You won't win with him. "Don't talk back to me," he said. I swear I close my eyes I'm back home, Richard is drunk and yelling at me.

"B*tch," he growled, and then throw his drunk in my face and on my camera. Then punched me in my gut, then left. That was it. I couldn't stand it anymore.

My dad beating me up all the time for nothing, having no friends to be there when I needed them and have my back, my mom dying slowly in front of me, Matt constantly abandoning me for a better deal, questioning my own existence. It all came down on me with this last random stranger going off in front of me.

I felt the water works coming and I couldn't stop them. I turned to get away from the crowd, before they all caught my pathetic pity party. However the tears were already blurring my vision, so I bumped into what I could only describe as a mass of black. "Sorry," I said thickly, then continued outside.

I found a quiet place away from the building and parking lot by a tree, and just sat down and let it all out. I don't know how long I sat there, crying my heart out. Long enough to feel ridiculously tired afterward. I finally remembered my camera and began wiping the smudges off the lens.

"Andrew," an unfamiliar voice called. I ignored it, as well as the second call. But the third was very close. I looked up and saw Steve Montgomery walking toward me. Of all the people to catch me after my sob fest it had to be the most popular kid in school.

"With the camera. Can we…can we use that thing?" he asked nicely. _What?_ "What?" I asked so confused. So many things were off with this. "We found the craziest sh*t. We gotta get it on tape." While he explained I tried to get rid of the evidence of me crying. Unfortunately my voice ratted me out.

"Uh it's not…" I couldn't get the words out. I was so not ready for socializing. "What up man? You okay?" he asked almost sounded like he was concerned about a nobody like me, and crouched down to my level.

"Yeah, I'm Andrew," I said. Stupid, he already knew that. "Yeah. I'm Steve," he said holding his hand out hand out and inched forward. "Steve Montgomery," he greeted with a big smile that did not help me at all. When you're this low any kind of cheerfulness with friendly intent or not just make you worse. "Yeah, I know," I croaked. The hand went down and the smile fell.

"Really?" he said. "Uh Matt and I were just hanging out…and we found this…this thing," he explained awkwardly. "What? You're with Matt," I asked. Matt was with him the whole time I was out here? Why that made me mad that he left me crying while he fooled around with the popular crowd I don't know.

"Yeah, come on we found the craziest thing, and we need you to film it," he said perking up. "I don't know," I said. It wasn't exactly smart going off with people you don't know at night in the middle of nowhere. Pretty sure they made some guy in a dog suit explain that to us once. "Just come on man, get it on tape. It'll be cool," he goaded. "I don't think…"

"Trust me!" he said. Geez, I couldn't be alone when I really wanted it. When I wanted to be left to myself suddenly everyone wanted me and I was in no mood. But at least I can try and beg a ride off of Matt. "Alright," I sighed getting up.

"Sweet! You know there are like tones of girls around here, right? And you're all by yourself by a tree," he chuckled. Did it occur to anyone that I wanted it that way? "I'm just really picky," I said as an excuse. I was kind of off girls for the night.

Steve led me into the woods and already I was having second thoughts about going with him, despite his chipper attitude, which I didn't like much to begin with. But Matt was at the end of this and hopefully I could whine enough to get him to take me home.

The sound of a twig snapping made me jump then some brushes rustled. "Uh Steve..? Did you hear that?" I asked getting a little freaked out. "Oh it's probably some animal," he said completely nonchalantly. Animal, my ass, that sure as hell wasn't any Bambi.

"Listen I really don't think-"

"You got a light on that thing?" he asked completely ignoring my little freak out. Stupid, of course the light I put on just this afternoon. "Yeah here."

No sooner had I turned it on did something black and defiantly human tripped and land in-between Steve and I.

"Oh, nature's trying to kill me," the person groaned, pushing themselves up. "Uh dude you alright?" Steve asked. The guy sent Steve a legit look that could kill. The guy was dressed in all pitch black and baggy clothes with a striped skullcap.

But something was off with him and I couldn't figure out why he looked familiar. He had a soft almost feminine shape. And for one second I found myself attracted to him. Nothing against them personally but I could not handle being gay on to of all the other sh*t in my life. That would be the invitation for Richard to beat me within an inch of my life.

"Yo dude, I don't know if you play your football games without the padded helmets but I'd think a jock would recognized a girl when he saw one," _she_ bit out. I breathed a sigh of relief. Okay this I could deal with. It was that hot Goth chick from the hallway, the one that let my ass get kicked.

"Oh snap. You a girl," Steve said shocked. She crossed her arms, and looked at him unimpressed. "Well if I'm not I've been wasting money on bras for nothing," she quipped. I laughed, girl had attitude, the I remembered I was supposed to be mad at her. "Sorry about that. It's hard to see out here," Steve said. "I'm…"

"Steve Montgomery; quarterback, drives a silver Camaro, and is currently responsible for the school's new hallway gallery," she said. Well that was unexpected. "Have we met?" Steve asked. "Nope, but neither has anyone else," she said. "You go to our school," I said. It wasn't a small school but it also wasn't huge, so everyone knew everyone, unfortunately.

"Yeah, I go there and see everybody but no ever notices the girl in the back corner," she explained. So she was a loner like me. A really hot loner, now that I saw her up close. Whoa rewind, guy. If this was the same hot Goth chick from earlier then she was way out of your league, and clearly didn't think you were worth her time if she just stood by. My life has enough disappointment without getting into a girl who would shoot me down. Got that, girl is off limits.

"Alright well if you know me, who are you?' Steve asked. "Saphira Spector," she greeted. "What were you guys doing out here anyway?" she asked. "Oh that's right!" Steve exclaimed, going back to his overly chipper self. "A whole bunch of us were out here. We were like obsessed with this hole in the ground that made the craziest sound ever! So we wanted to go and get our boy Andrew to get it on tape." Our boy?

"Mind if I join you?" she asked. "More the merrier. But be prepared to have your mind blown," he said psyched, and walked off giving us no choice but to follow.

"That's a nice camera. The old fashion ones are always cooler, less of a hassle then the new ones. You thinking of going into filming after high school?" she asked. I looked at her, surprised. That was the first time someone other than my mom asked what I wanted to do. And the first time other than my mom who gave me a compliment, well my camera one

"Don't know. I'm just doing it," I said lamely. "Well you look pretty comfortable with it. The AV team, who are professionals by the way get all the wires crossed," she said. "There's an AV team?" I asked. Granted I didn't pay attention to much when I was ducked around Sean.

"Yeah they have their meeting in the room next the closet I lounge in when I skip fifth period," she explained. "I thought all the closets were locked all the time," I said. I remember that vividly when I was running from Sean and couldn't get any doors open.

"Not when our good friends with the janitor," she smirked. "Is… uh your friend always that hyper?" she asked. "He is not my friend. My cousin sic'd him on me because I had the camera," I muttered. "Hmm, blink twice you're being held against your will," she said. Why the hell was she being nice to me? No one ever was. And she was the one who left me to get kicked around. Now she was all buddy buddy?

"Garetty!" Steve yelled. "Yo down here!" Matt's voice came back. "Yo Matt, where's everybody at?" Steve called. "They all left. Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" Matt yelled. "What is that?" I asked a little freaked out at the hole in the ground. There was a very weird and uncomfortable vibe coming out of that thing. "You feeling what I'm feeling?" Saphira asked, eyeing the hole suspiciously. "Yeah, not good," I agreed.

"Is that the camera?" Matt called. "Yeah I found him, and we brought a girl along too," Steve yelled back. "Oh sweet. Where is she?" Matt asked looking around Saphira. Wow he didn't even notice when she was right in front of him. My only accomplishment was being a punching bag, but at least people had to notice me to hit me. She was right freaking there staring at him and he didn't notice. I felt for her.

"Yeah she right here," Steve said pointing at her. "She is a girl?" Matt asked surprised. "Yeah harder to believe. Moving on," she ground out.

"Is it still making that sound?" Steve asked partially _giggling._ Both he and Matt laid down flat on the ground and looked into it.

This thing was creepier up close. I leaned the camera to look into it but stayed standing. "No, no, no, no. you two gotta get down in it," Steve insisted, getting up and tried to push us down like he and Matt just were.

"Don't touch me," I growled, jerking away from him. He just went back to his spot acting really weird. "I'm just trying to get it on the camera," I said. They laid there like excited puppies waiting for a new chew toy.

"Not to sound rude, but are they high?" Saphira asked quietly. That was a good question. I didn't know Steve well, but there was no way he was this level of goofy all the time. And Matt had his moments but this was too much for him. "I don't know," I admitted.

Then a deep ominous rumble sound came from inside the hole. It felt like ice water was being poured down my spine. This was so not good. We needed to leave _now._

"How creepy is that?" Steve asked psyched. "It's like that sound from war of the worlds," Matt said. "If your only reference to something is a horror movie then we should leave it alone," Saphira said, looking spooked.

"Is the sound coming out of it?" Matt asked his head the hole. "Probably it's loud," I said. "Hello!" Matt yelled, his voice echoing off the walls. "Come on man, we're going inside," Steve said.

Oh hell no. No freaking way. "I'm going back," I stated. "I second that," Saphira said. It was then I realized she had latched onto the bottom of my hoodie. The fact that she wanted to leave was not a surprise. We seemed to be the only sane ones in the group. What was surprising was I wasn't bothered by her closeness, after her leaving me earlier. Right now that sound had scared me so bad, I could give her a break if it meant getting the hell out of here.

Not to mention she's hot. She's also off limits. Stick to your mental guns, Andrew or this chick will so own you, use you, and leave you.

"Yeah, come on man," Matt agreed. "Matt, seriously?" I asked incredulously. This was beyond stupid. Steve let out a loud whoop and launched himself into the hole. "Steve!" I yelled. "God, he's a ninja," Matt chuckled. "More like a moron," Saphira muttered.

"Whoa, whoa, Matt. Matt! What are you doing?" I yelled. My idiot cousin was going down in the thing. Saphira was right, a thing that made these kinds of sounds was best left alone. Plus this thing almost felt…_alive_.

"Come on Matt, are you serious?" I demanded. "Andrew, give us some light," Matt instructed. I am not your servant, but if you got hurt it was on me. And I was not going to be the one to explain this to Uncle Stan.

"Matt. Matt! Come on you're my ride home. You're going to make me come after you," I groan. This night had gone to complete sh*t. I turned to Saphira. "What are you gonna do?" I asked. "I so want to turn around and forget this place, but if you guys get hurt it'll eat at me forever. So I'm in…but charging them with kidnapping in the morning."

"Alright. Here hold this for a sec, please," I said handing over my camera. "Sure," she said taking it carefully, as I ease myself down. She handed it down then hopped in after me. We hadn't walked ten feet when the smell hit us. God it was like sewage mixed with ten years old rotten eggs, bog water in the summer, and the boy's locker room.

"Hello," I called around my cough. "What died down here?" Saphira gagged. "You guys! Matt!" My foot felt wet, looking down I saw it was in a puddle. "Watch your step," I warned. "Thanks. You know if this place wasn't so terrifying and smelled god awful then it'd be pretty cool," she mused.

I didn't have time to think about it, because just then Steve jumped out from behind a rock and scared us, then the jack*ss had the nerve to laugh at us. Could he and Matt not feel whatever it was that was hovering in this place like fog, and smelled like something dead was buried in here? "Don't do that you idiot," Saphira hissed.

He didn't listen, he was too busy informing Matt I was a … a wimp. "Alright does this thing go down much deeper?' I asked. I hoped to God not. The smell was nauseating and the feeling was beginning to press down on me like a heavy blanket, making it harder to breathe. A look at Saphira said she wasn't doing much better. How in the hell could Steve and Matt not feel this?

"Yeah man it goes down really, really far," Steve giggled. "Hey, Matt maybe we'll make all the way down to China," Steve joked. "We'd hit the center of the earth sooner than China," Matt said. "Sweetness, we'll see some dinos."

"Though it would suck if we got eaten," Matt mused. "Yeah in movies like that the black guy always dies first," Steve muttered. "Add that to the fact you're the macho jock so you're double dead," Saphira informed him. "Oh man, you'd hear that," Steve yelled.

"I wouldn't worry too much about you. Cameraman always dies second to last," she said, her voice getting rougher. "What about you, feel like you can outrun a dino?" I asked. God I was barely getting air in my lungs. I had no energy for unexplained grudges "Don't have to out run the dino. I just have to outrun you guys," she smiled, and then her face pinched. "Course that would have been easier twenty feet back."

"Dang this thing is like a straight shot down, and we've only gone like forty or sixty feet," Matt said. "Can we please not talk about it, okay?" I wheezed. The distance however short was dragging me and Saphira down, while Matt and Steve still didn't seem to notice.

"Hey Andrew, have you ever heard of Pluto's allegory of the cave," Matt asked.

Oh God, Matt. Not now. I may be dying over here along with someone else and you want talk about philosophers. "I don't know Matt. Let's just get this over with," I said miserable.

"Your cousin…is …crazy," Saphira panted. The feeling had now turned into a high pitched hum that along with feeling sick, coupled with the inability to breathe well, and now this place was giving me a headache.

"Holy sh*t," Steve said in awe. "What is that?" Matt asked just as mystified. The air was too thick down here. Wherever here was? But I couldn't stop walking forward. "Matt, I'm not kidding. I can't breathe. And Saphira not doing much better."

Then we rounded the corner, and there was a HUGE glowing blue rock. That had to be the reason for our problems.

"Do you believe this?" Matt asked. Suddenly the camera started going haywire.

"What am I looking at?" Steve said, walking up at the thing.

"Ah sh*t," I groaned. Whatever this thing was it was trying to make my heart come out of my chest. "I am freaking out right now," I said the panic and fear I was feeling was coloring my words. I had never been this terrified in my life. At some point Saphira and I had latched onto each other like life preservers. She was shaking pretty bad, was covered in sweat, and pale as a ghost. In times like this you don't care who so long as it's human.

"Matt, can we get out of here please," I pleaded with him to notice what was going on with his cousin and the girl they had dragged into it. "Is it showing on the camera like that?" he asked. That's not important right now.

"I don't know, Matt. It's messing with it, I don't think I should be filming this," I told him. "Dude, I'll buy you a new one," he waved me off. That's not the point. There is something seriously weird and freaky going on here. "Don't touch it!" Saphira shouted at Steve as he reached out toward that thing. Suddenly the blue glow turned red.

_It moved or pulsed rather._

The high pitched hummed became a full blast roar. Make it stop! It hurts!

"I can't hear you over this thing," I shouted. I looked over at Steve and saw his nose just gushing blood. The same thing was happening to Matt and Saphira. Then I felt something warm, wet and sticky pour down my face. What the f**k was going on here!

Then the room started to shake like it was having an earthquake. "_**RUN!**_" Saphira bellowed. Saphira and I were closest to the tunnel, so once she screamed I had no problem getting the hell out of this place with her right at my heels. Matt and Steve were coming up fast behind us, coming out of whatever spell that stupid rock had on them as they heard the cave collapse around them.

My heart pounded against my chest, I could practically feel it touching the inside skin as it tried to escape. Rocks were falling down around us, in bigger and bigger chunks, making us have to jump or vault over them. The tunnels were caving-in all around us. Dust was filling the air and mixing with the sweat dripping off us in our dead sprint to get out of here. At one point Steve and Matt pulled ahead. Not really a surprise. They had the rock's nicer effects while Saphira and I were still trying to get the air back in our lungs. Finally I could just make out a few shreds of moonlight from the opening. I ran my hand through my hair and let out a shaky laugh as freedom was in sight.

I had barley pulled ahead of Matt when a loud thump made me look back. Saphira had gotten hit by one of the falling rocks. Later on I would look back and realize this was the single stupidest, moronic, downright dumbest thing I have ever done, but have never lived to regret. I dropped my camera, letting it fall it to the ground, the sound of it hitting the ground was muted by the cave in. The dust got stuck in my eyes making them burn and tear up for the second time tonight, and I let out a ragged cough as the dust covered my lungs.

One good thing came from all those days I spent afternoons at Richard's fire house, watching the fire fighters go through their exercises. I swung her arm over my shoulder and slipped my other arm under her knees. Probably not the best way, but there was time and space difficulties. Plus even now I did not want her to wake and hunt me down for the things I did while she was knocked out. I may hate my life but I would loathe it and be unable to look my mom in the eye for what little time we had left, if I let someone die.

"Andrew hurry!" Matt shouted. There must have been a pile up because they should have been closer to the hole by now. "I know! I'm trying," I yelled out trying to keep myself together from all the stress. I caught up with no problem.

We were almost less than five steps from jumping out when from behind us we heard a sound that this time had the same effect on all of us. A sound that froze our blood in its veins. An otherworldly, ominous _howl._

A howl that kicked up a strong wind from within the tunnel with a pulse of that red glow following right behind it. When it hit us, we shot out of the hole like that guy in the circus getting shot out of a canon.

I must have pasted out in mid-air because I don't remember feeling the ground beneath me. My last thought was that that moment of weightlessness was the most free and glorious feeling I had ever known in my life.

*.*.*

**Okay there's the rewrite hope it was a little better. **


	2. rude, awesome awakenings

*.*.*

God my head was killing me. I hadn't drunk anything; maybe I had accidentally inhaled something from the other party goers. Then the rest of the night came back to me; the mad guy, the crying, going with Steve, meeting Saphira, the hole…the rock.

My eyes shot open, and I looked around trying not to move too much. That feeling of flying was replaced by the pain of obviously hitting the ground full force. The hole lay twenty feet to my left, silent. A little ways off, Matt was laying spread eagle, but looking okay. He was breathing. Steve had unfortunately-for him- had landed on his face, and had his butt in the air. It was the funniest thing I had seen in a long time. I would have laughed if my body wasn't so tired.

I closed my eyes again, and just thought. Last night I had done something great and no one was there to see it and congratulate me for it. I couldn't tell my mom, it would only stress her out which would get Richard on my ass. I saved another person and nothing had changed. I was still the same nobody.

I wouldn't even have the benefit of the 'damsel in distress' feeling indebted to me for saving her. Saphira had from the beginning seemed interested in Steve. She had all that info on him, and only agreed to come because he seemed super psyched about it. Sure she hadn't helped me with Sean but she also hadn't been a bitch toward me like everyone else. But she didn't like me, why would she go for the quiet, unbalanced freak when she could have the quarterback and class president.

The only girl in my life that cared was my mom and that time was coming to an end, then I'd be alone forever. Forced to be stuck here in Seattle while Richard beat me until the day his liver failed him or death decided to show me some mercy and take me. That was how it was going to happen, and I had resigned myself to this fate since that first doctor's report came and Richard through that first punch. I had lost all sense of optimism. At first I was happy to see the next day, now I sort of wished I wouldn't, to avoid the pain the next day would further heap on me.

Matt was right, I should just give up on life. All life had to offer me was pain. Pain from Richard's fists and sharp, cutting words, Sean's bullying, and watching my only friend slowly waste away. Caring about someone just brought me more pain. That's why after my mom's first report came I had tried to cut Matt out of my life, so I wouldn't care when he left me for his fabulous college life and future career. But I was failing. He was family, he tried. He was shit at it but he did more than others. But many had, and it hurt too much. Now I was officially done with it . From this day on I, Andrew John Detmer, will not care about another person till the day I die. Then something _moved _on top of me.

My eyes shot opened and looked down my chest, and immediately I felt my vow go right out the window.

Saphira Spector: Goth pixie, accent heavy with sarcasm, fully equipped with snappy comeback, and hands down the hottest girl I had ever seen, was laying her head on my stomach! How in the hell had I missed that!

What should I do? Should I wake her up? Probably not, she'd wake up on some guy she just met and hit me. I should just leave her. But if I did and she realized it, she'd think I was a pervert and hit me harder. Either way she'd hit me and I really didn't want any new bruises on top of the ones I already had.

She chose that moment to rub her head further into my stomach and sighed softly. God the universe was out to make me suffer more. Hot girl almost in my lap, all matter of fantasies came to mind. Like I said I wasn't optimistic, but I still dreamed. It was so easy to picture some kind of inane and moronic Twilight setting and think I had finally done something right in my life and I had gotten a girl like this one. God how wonderful would that be? My daydream was interrupted by the sound of Matt waking up.

"The hell..?" he groaned before shooting up in a panic. His eyes darted around before they fell on Steve, and ran over to help his friend. Sure ignore me like I'm not even here. I'm only your cousin. God if he was going to pull the cousin card on me the least he could do was keep an eye out for me. It was all a part of his big cousin project; pester Andrew till he agrees to whatever I want then leave him alone like usual, then send him back to live in the rat hole with the abusive bastard then do it again a month later.

"You think really loudly, you know that?" Saphira asked. I looked down to see that she was staring straight into my eyes. Man she had like clear blue oceans in them. Couldn't look away. Those stupid 'sparks' were charging through me. I'm a guy; we have urges, even me despite my being fucked up in every way.

The sound of Steve violently yet comically spitting dirt out of his mouth broke off your staring contest. Matt was trying to be polite, by choking back his laughing. Saphira was not. She let out this giggle that vibrated through my stomach that was not good for a sexual frustrated teenager like myself. Lord take me now.

"Andrew, there you are. You okay?" Matt shouted. Yeah here I am. Where was I going? And like you even care.

"Judging by who's with him, I'd say he's _very_ okay," Steve laughed. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment. Saphira didn't say anything, just stood up, then offered me a hand up. I took it, mostly out of the manners mom taught me, but really I was shocked she had bothered.

"Dang, man what happened?" Steve asked. "Kind of obvious. We found a rock that through a fit and shot us out, leaving us here all night," Saphira said easily like she was talking about the weather.

"All night?" Matt shouted, then looked around at the lighter sky of dawn. "Oh shit, my mom's going to kill," he said gripping his hair in frustration. No she wouldn't, the most she would do is yell and ground you. If Richard was sober from my leaving till now he was definitely going to tear me a new one over the olds he gave me.

"You could just tell her a partygoer got out of hand and slashed your tire, so you had to wait for a car store to open, and you couldn't get a signal that's why you didn't call. Most that would get you is a stern lecture about being better at your choices in life," Saphira suggested. "That is brilliant. Thank you," Matt said grateful. That's your problem solved but I'm still in trouble.

*.*.*

"Well it was great hanging with you guy, ya know besides the rock going screwy," Steve said once we got back to the parking lot. "Hey, don't sweat it man. I'll see at school," Matt said fist bumping him. Then he drove off.

Matt patted his pockets "Oh shit! I think my keys may have been locked in," he groaned. Great. Just freaking great, now how we going to get home? I doubt there was any more I could do to make Richard even more pissed at me, but it would upset mom if I wasn't home.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like Saphira trying to mold herself into the side of the car, a look of hard concentration on her face. Then there was a faint click. She opened the driver side door with the smuggest look I have ever seen on her face. "How the- you know what I don't even care, just thank you," Matt said hopping in and began looking for his keys.

And there was the awkward silence. It probably wasn't for her. She was the only completely calm one of us since we woke up. In fact the whole night seemed to have not even happened to her. But the silence to me was bordering on deafening and in these kinds of moments I talk before thinking.

"So, Steve seems like a nice guy," I said. Nice Andrew nice. "I guess," she shrugged, still staring off at something. She guesses?

"Didn't you agree to go last night cause you liked him?" I asked.

She looked surprised. "No, that's not why. Sure he is a nice guy and all, but I only agreed to go because I was thinking after we were done I could finally talk to you," she said.

Talk to me? Finally talk to me? She wanted to talk me? Maybe I was concussed, because my head just could not think right. She noticed my confusion, and sighed.

"Look, I know you saw me yesterday…after Sean. And I know you probably think I'm a bitch because I didn't do anything even though you saw it made me mad, which made you mad that I bailed on you. But believe me, I have a low tolerance for bullies and I would have loved to have walked right up to them and giving them the kick in the nards they deserved, but if I did that when they did nothing to me, then it would make Sean the victim and he'd get out of it, and continue his reign as supreme douchebag of the halls. Besides I like to do my payback quietly and in a grand display," she explained.

Made since but that didn't mean she was doing it for me, it was for bully victims in general. But it was nice all the same.

"Hey you know if you're seriously stressed for time, I can just hotwire it for you," she said, conversationally. Again, she may as well have said 'How's the weather?' with that tone. "You can do that?" Matt asked head out the door. "Move over."

She wasn't in the car two minutes. She reached under the dash, yanked some wires, then touched them together, and the engine turned over. "You are Wonder Woman, thank you," Matt said, awed.

"Oh no thank you. Now my dad owes my fifty bucks," she smiled. "Why?" I asked. "Because he didn't think hotwiring a car could be used as a good thing."

Matt was antsy to get home, but before I could get in, something soft brushed against my cheek. I felt my face heat up, as I stared at Saphira shocked and confused. "The knight in shining armor who saves the damsel in distress always gets at least one kiss for bravery," she grinned walking away.

I kept staring after her, until Matt slammed on the horn, making me jump. On the way home I wondered if it was stupid for me to care for one more person. I was almost positive it was. She had her own life, and it wasn't going to be derailed by one crazy night. Once we got back to school she would probably never see me again unless Sean was kicking my ass and even then she wouldn't come up to stop him. And that was just fine by me; I was not going to be stupid enough to fall for a girl that would only hurt me.

Or maybe I could be that stupid.

*.*.*

I had finally got a break when I got home, Richard was laid out on the sofa in a drunken sleep. I crept up to my room and locked myself in. I lay on my bed and just stared up at the cracks in the ceiling. I hated these empty moments. Mom was still sleeping, I had homework to do but just didn't have the energy, there were no friends to call to talk to, and now I had lost my camera. I missed that thing, I didn't want to think about how long it would take me to replace it. Too long. Richard would notice and then… I didn't want to think about what he'd do for the 'smart-mouthing' I did.

I guess I could doodle something, but I too cozy where I was to get up. I was in that place where you can't be sure if your awake or asleep, where you think you're going something in real life but once you come out of it you realize you haven't moved at all. I imagined myself getting up and getting a pen and some paper then coming back to my bed.

Suddenly paper was raining down on me and a pen was tapping me on the head with no one holding it. My heart for the second time in less than a day threatened to slam itself out of my chest in pure panic. I flailed and fell off my bed, hitting the floor with a solid thump then scrambled away until my back touched the opposite wall.

I had read the stages of grief and was fully prepared to check each and every one of them off when mom passed. But now it seemed I was going to go through them earlier then I had planned and for a _completely _different reason.

Denial.

This was not happening. This _was not _happening. Not to me, on top of everything else. This kind of stuff only happened in the comic books and movies. I had not done that. I _had_ actually gotten up and taken those papers to my bed and then somehow tripped…and somehow forgotten about it. And what about the pen? Okay I did do it but how? How could I possibly become more of a freak then I already was?

Guilt.

God what was wrong with me? If mom found out about this, she would only worry herself sicker then she already was and then her sickness would really be my fault this time and Richard would finally beat me till I couldn't move. I was so tired of being in pain all the time. In pain from watching mom get closer to leaving me every day, from Richard shredding every scrap of my confidence, dignity, anything. Being alone. And not having the balls to stand up for myself, just taking it in the teeth and gut every-fucking-time.

Anger.

I was so mad at being pathetic all the time. At not doing a damn thing about what was happening to me, just sitting down and letting those ass****s torment me like this. I was mad at Richard for being an unemotional ass that beat his own son for things I had no control over and shooting me down every time I tried to prove him wrong, that I was something like mom always said. All he did was sit on his lazy fat ass all day and take money from the government. I was even a little mad at mom for getting sick in the first place, which would make her leave me when I needed her. I was mad at Matt for always dragging me around more like his dog, instead of his cousin.

Bargaining.

I had always skipped this one because that meant I'd have to have something to trade for a better outcome. I had shit.

Depression.

I thought I'd pass over this one, seeing as how I was always depressed. But now in light of this, this…whatever it was, everything came down on me harder than last night. I had a deadbeat father who was no father at all. Fathers do not beat their sons just because they're angry at something. My mom was going to die before she could see me make something of myself. If I ever did. She'd never see my first girlfriend, never pester me with the camera on the night I took her to prom, and cry that her 'baby boy' was growing up. She'd never see me walk across the stage when I graduated, hear me say 'I do' to my wife, or see any of her grandkids. Again a big fat IF.

But that whole future I had set up since I was a kid all had mom in it, and now she wouldn't be there in any case. My only close family was Matt and he wanted nothing to do with me, because I brought him down. And who'd want a sad little cousin when he could have better friends. He proved that at the party, when he checked on Steve before me after the rock…..The rock. It did something to me that made me even more of an outcast and freak then before. Or maybe not.

Acceptance.

I would never get over my mom's death, but it was a cold, unforgiving reality that I had accepted. Maybe that was what I needed here. But had what I done been a fluke? I sat up against the wall and looked at my bed, the papers lay where I left them. I pictured picking them off my bed but this time I was watching. One of the papers rose off the bed as though I was actually over there picking it up. Now that I saw it, it wasn't so scary. Well yeah this was insane, but it was so freaking awesome at the same time. And I was doing it. I did something awesome for once in my life.

I didn't sleep, I was too focused and excited as I practiced, with a big stupid grin on my face. I reveled in my new ability. It was just small things as I quickly learned after I tried to lift my tripod and my nose bled like it had in the cave. I crumpled paper and through it into the trash without touching it, made my pen spin like a compass arrow, and juggled spare change. I had gotten up to four nickels and a quarter, and was so focused that the normal sound of my cell made me jump.

"H-hello," I said, my voice rough from not talking.

"Andrew?" Man I never thought I'd glad to hear Matt's voice. "Hey, Steve and I are going to be there in five. We really need to talk about something, make sure your there," he insisted then hung up. Sounds like he and Steve found out what I had.

Sneaking out was easy, since Richard was still sprawled out on the couch in a drunken slumber. Matt was already waiting by the curb with Steve in the car. I hopped in the back and Matt coasted around the neighborhood like a creeper.

"Um, okay," Matt began running a hand through his hair nervously. "So anything new happen to you recently?" Now if he had asked me that two days ago I would have thought it was a part of those social contracts where you have to be polite but not mean a word you say. And usually I would ignore him, but now…

"Yeah half my room is floating around," I said. I knew this was serious but damn it this was the most exciting thing to ever happen to me.

"Yeah same with us," Matt sighed defeated. Odd how our roles reverse. Usually Matt was the sure, confident one that won at everything he tried, while I got nervous about everything and failed before I tried. I loved this, it was new, exciting, and something I was good at. Finally.

"Okay I think we can all agree that that rock did more than shoot us out like a canon, it did something. I have no idea what though, but we'll find out," he assured. I could see how this would freak out people like Steve and Matt what with their normal and secure lives. And just like a comic book it's always the loner that has the talent for it. Then I realized we were one person shy, in this comic book scenario.

"What a minute guys, if we all have the same problem from being near that rock then that means Saphira does too," I said. "Yeah I figured that. We'll have to catch her at school, till then it doesn't do us any good to make plans without all of us there. This is weird but if we stick together we'll make it through this," Matt said.

Not even an hour into this comic and Matt was already asserting himself as the leader. Although it could be fun if we shaved his head. I forced back a chuckled at the picture. Whatever happened I was going to thoroughly enjoy and savor every moment. It very well may be the only good thing to happen to me.

*.*.*

The plan was easier thought up then to follow through. Saphira it turned out was not kidding when she said no one notice the girl in the corner. Anyone we asked all gave the same response, 'who?'. Then we had the greatest and downright hilarious distraction. There was this crowd circled around the principal's office. For the millionth time since Saturday, I wish I still had my camera now that something exciting and interesting was happening.

"Hey what's going on?" Steve asked some girl. "Someone tipped off the principle and they found a whole mess of coke in Sean's locker, they got the cops and all that," the girl answered.

No way, Sean was busted? I swear I can hear the celebration song somewhere. I half expected confetti to rain down. This was a momentous occasion the supreme douchebag of the halls reign was coming to an end. This was AWESOME! And I didn't have my camera, damn it.

Then the door opened and a cop dragged out a hysterical and crying Sean. "I didn't do it. It was- it wasn't mine. I swear! I was framed," he shouted.

It was kind of surreal being in the crowd instead of being the object of their ridicule. But here I was watching the guy that made my school life as tough as my home life, being gawked and laughed at by everyone. Revenge was so sweet. I was so close to doing a happy dance for the whole school to see but I settled for grinning like a madman as Sean was dragged off.

"All right you lot, there's nothing to see here. Go back to class," the principal commanded.

"Come on Joker, we'll have to try and catch her after school," Matt said. I was so thrilled by Sean's arrest that I had forgotten we had come to school on a mission. I looked around and thought I saw her go around the corner but I let it go seeing as the girl was wearing a pink sweatshirt, instead of the Goth pixy look she sported the last time.

*.*.*

"Dang man how can one chick be so hard to find?" Steve cried to the ceiling after school. We had tried to find Saphira as soon as school let out but she was nowhere, and no one knew her. Wait a minute, she did know someone here. The janitor.

"I know someone who might know where she is," I said.

"And you waited till now to tell us," Matt snapped. I so did not need his attitude. He was not going to ruin Sean's arrest for me.

"She said she was good friends with the janitor. He even lets her lounge in the closets when she ditches class," I told them.

"All right then, to the janitor," Steve proclaimed then charged down the hall. Where does that guy get the energy? He was like a bouncy ball or something.

Janitors from what I had seen in movies and TV, weren't the most well thought of among the school staff, and as such were a really crotchety adult and hated the kids because he had to clean up after. However the person that opened the door was _not_ the person we thought would.

'Milo' according to his patch was a dwarf. He came up to a little over four feet, had dark brown hair and a full beard, which made him look like he should be in some medieval movie or something, like Narnia or Games of Thrones.

"What do you want?" he snapped. Great, first Matt now him. Was everyone a rude douche that wanted to ruin my bully getting dragged out?

"Uh we- we were uh- looking for Saphira. She said you and her were tight," Steve explained awkwardly.

"We are acquainted. Why do you want to know?" he asked causally. But I had heard this tone before; it was the same one Richard use to use right before he hit me. And that I actually preferred, least there I had some warning before he hit me.

"We meet over the weekend and she left her wallet in algebra," Matt lied.

Milo cracked a crooked smile that made me feel like I should be running. "And you boys are just some good Samarians, huh?" Then the smile fall off and was replaced by a glare. "Listen, just because of my 'glamorous' job and unfortunate height does not make me stupid. Three things wrong with your statement; it doesn't take three guys to return a wallet, you could have turned it into lost and found, and she takes college calculus. You want to lie about someone do it right. Now what's the real reason you want her for?"

Never heard an adult encourage a kid to lie. But he had a point we knew nothing about her, why would she agree to do anything with us. Last time that happen it almost got her killed.

"Okay, look something serious happened these weekend and we really need to find her and talk about it," Matt insisted. I really don't think it was that serious more like wicked awesome, but Matt was calling the shots, and I didn't want to get yelled at again.

Milo stared at Matt, mulling over his words. "Alright, but don't mess with her or else," he warned.

It suddenly occurred to me how unfortunate his height could be to my person, and took a cautious step away from him. He noticed and laughed at my nervousness.

"Don't worried, guy. It isn't me you have to worry about. She works at the library by the park."

*.*.*

The lady behind the front dress was exactly what you'd expect to find in a library. She was old, white hair up in a tight bun, dressed in clothes right out of a black and white movie, and a thin lipped scowl that was practically painted on her face.

"What," she barked once she noticed us. I held back a groan. I was so sick of people treating me like trash. Why was every adult a judgmental, rude jackass, or was it only the adults I had to deal with? Either way dealing with people like this reminded me why I don't leave my house. Not that it mattered much I was yelled at anywhere.

"We are looking for Saphira," Matt said politely.

"She is with those noisy illiterates," she spat, then pulled a ruler out of nowhere and jabbed it toward a hall. "Right down there, room 206."

Didn't need to be told twice, that woman scared me. The room would have been easy to find even without directions. For one it was the only one with people in it. And two since old people tend to hate little kids for the noise level, it fit that the room was a kid's chaos paradise. The walls were a deep blue with trees that had hand prints for leaves and various doodles taped on. Inside seven kids were playfully attacking the only adult-like figure; Saphira.

If it weren't for her ocean eyes I'd have never known it was her. She wasn't wearing her Goth pixy attire; it had been replaced with a pink Cheer Bear sweatshirt, purple chucks, and had her long black hair in pigtails with sparkle red bows.

The little monsters dumped her unto a large neon orange beanbag chair, just as we came in. "Help this beanbag is eating me alive!" she cried out with fake hysteria, as she flailed in the chair then curled underneath it and went still. The kids pushed one of their own toward the bag, and as soon as he was close enough Saphira shot out and rolled them over till she had him pinned and tickled his sides. She looked up at us, stepped away from the kid.

"Give me one sec guys," she said. "Attention!" she shouted, and the kids tripped over themselves to get in a military line formation while choking back laughter. She paced in front of them like a drill sergeants. "Alright you lot, we have just gotten through Treasure Island. Now let's see how well you can follow a map yourself. Follow the clues to the treasure and rip the rewards. Do you copy?"

"Fae, yes, Fae!" they all answered giggling. "Go get it," she commanded. They kids stampeded past her as she grabbed her Rainbow Bright bag and walked out with us.

"So, Fae…" Steve teased.

"Hey it's a nickname alright, no lip," she warned playfully.

"What the heck happened to you?" Matt asked.

"Look I just had to entertain seven kids who think I'm a trampoline. I'm not going to be runway material," she defended. And yet you still are. Down boy, nothing good ever came out of these scenarios. Partially with screw ups from the wrong side of the tracks.

"No I mean last time you were all black now you're like…blinding," Matt said.

"What did you think I was a Goth pixy all the time? Oh no, I'm like a trashcan punch party, you'll never know what's in me," she grinned. "Now I know you boys did not face down Milo just to talk to me about my fashion choices. So what's up?''

"Okay, uh well it came to our attention that we have- that is we seem to have- I mean we kind of," Matt stammered. Saphira looked seriously uninterested in his words and held up a hand to shut him up.

"Okay I'm going to stop you before you hurt yourself. I mean honestly it is not that hard to say we somehow got dropped in the Twilight Zone. Although if this were the Twilight Zone we got ripped off because there's no voice-over by Rob Serling, and that stinks," she grumbled.

"So you already know," Matt said miphed. "Girl we just spent all day trying to find you to tell you, and you already know," Steve groaned.

"Well to be fair I was busy today. I was trying not to laugh myself stupid as Sean got hauled off," she chuckled at the memory. Yeah that was a happy sight, it actually made me smile for real. Finally someone was not going to demean to joy of the occasion.

"Speaking of which, Andrew I got something for you," she said. Come again. I hadn't received a present since my eleventh birthday. Since my mom got sick and Richard's forced retirement, it made things like birthdays and Christmas take a backseat. She reached into her bag but Matt interrupted.

"Wait, back up to where you already knew?"

She glared at him. "Sure let me drop the conversion I was having and talk to you," she said testy. "Yes I already knew. I found out probably the same way you did. You wanted something and it happened without you touching it. Although yours was probably more small scale than mine. I crashed as soon as I got home and then five hours later I wanted some water and every faucet in the whole house turned on and I had a massive nose bled. That was my second clue."

Whoa that was definitely more intense than mine. I had just wanted to doodle and it rained paper. Her whole house had answered. Looks like I have soon competition, so far all Matt and Steve did was claim they had it.

"Second?" Matt questioned.

"I knew something was different the moment I woke up after the cave, I just didn't know what exactly. It was like, well I don't know, I guess it was what a pot addict feels like when he has finally quit and he sees the world past the haze of drugs. Everything's just clearer…at least that's what I thought," she explained.

Yeah that's what it was. Breaking away from a prison cell and seeing the outside again. I had been locked in a life of pain and drabness, now I could do something like this. That feeling of weightlessness before I blacked out, doing these things brought it back if only slightly. I wanted that feeling always. It was weird to hear my own thoughts reflected back by some else. And normally that would have been cool, welcomed even, to relate to someone for once, but it was her. The girl I was sure was going to pull that last thread keeping me together apart.

"What I don't get is why you knew from the start and we didn't?" Matt mused.

"Maybe because she had a pillow when she landed," Steve goaded like the jock he was. I flushed at his crude comment, and Saphira's face fell. Suddenly Steve's feet shot out from under him and made a solid thud as his butt hit the floor.

"For the record it's not the smartest thing to mess with the one who knows how to do this," she said smugly. "Now where was I? Oh right I had a gift for you," she said before a camera floated out of her bag and into her hands then handed it to me.

It wasn't as old as mine had been but it wasn't fresh off the rack either though it looked very new. "Just a little something for saving my life and I felt bad cause you had to drop yours to do it," she said sheepishly.

"Um…thanks but I can't," I declined. I was touched she thought of me but I thought we were even when she read my mind and gave me that kiss. That was more than I thought I'd get. This was too much for one that does not have good things happen to them. Serious overkill.

"Well, I'm not taking it back," she said grabbing my hand placing it firmly. This must be the first time someone forced onto me something I actually wanted. It felt good having a camera in my hands again, I felt vulnerable without it. Now I had something to capture the first interesting thing to happen to me. I wasted no time turning it on and started recording again.

"Besides, if it's the money that bothers you, it didn't cost me a dime. I was looking for it in my attic, anyway," she shrugged.

"Why?" I asked.

"I needed something to video Sean getting dragged off," she said in a duh tone. But how did she know in advance that Sean would get arrested…unless….

"Oh no, girl you didn't," Steve said.

"Oh boy but I did. Although this time it actually was powdered sugar but once the cops realize that and apologize, Sean's rein as supreme douchebag of the halls will be over! I told you I like to do my revenge quietly and in grand displays," she beamed at my camera.

"Dang girl, remind me to stay on your good side," Steve said.

"Dude you thought I was a guy the first time we met and that's way worse than my bully peeve, but I let it go since you took a header to the ground and ate dirt. Now that we've established we all can do the same thing what are we going to do about it? I, personally, want to see how good I can get at this," she said.

"Good to know, because that's what we were going to do. We could meet at my house sometime, my parents work a lot and the younger kids are out with their friends," Matt suggested.

"We can do it tomorrow. Milo texted me saying they want to check the lockers and make sure there's nothing else there," she explained. "Sounds good…what are you doing?" Matt asked giving her an odd look as she held out a pen and rolled up her sleeve and offered him her arm.

"I don't have a pad or a cell, what's the matter you never wrote on anyone before?" she teased. "I thought all guys have drawn on someone at some point, even if it was when the victim was asleep."

While he wrote down his address she looked up at me. "You should bring the camera over tomorrow."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Matt cautioned. What was his deal with my camera, it wasn't as big and noticeable as the other one, and there wasn't going to be anyone else there but us.

Saphira gave him a confused look. "Why not? It's a good way to document our process, see where we need improvement. But if you like, we'll put it to a vote. All in favor…"

Her hand shot into the air, my hand hesitantly joined hers. I didn't want to make a big deal of it, but if she wanted to make the effort for me, I'd go with it. For now if she kept it up I'd start to feel like I owe her. Though she was probably paying off her life debt to me.

But Steve surprised both Matt and I when he raised his hand. "Come on, Matt give it a go. It'd be fun to watch us kick butt. Plus you know watching the gag reel will be hil-arious," he chuckled.

There was this loud muffled thud from the other room. Saphira let out huff. "I send them off on Treasure Island and they make it to Lord of the Flies. I better get back before Ms. Grinch comes down here," she said.

"Ms. Grinch, you kidding right?" Steve asked laughing.

"I wish. I'll see my partners in crime tomorrow. Andrew, enjoy the camera. Sean's arrest is still on it, make an evil night of it," she grinned slipped back into the room. Man she was so awesome. And so going to destroy you if you keep letting her in like this. I swore I'd stop caring. I had it firmly in my head every time, and every time she opened her mouth or looked at me I couldn't remember it. Better find a way to focus. I wasn't going to drag her down to my level.


	3. training day

Author's note: helllloo everybody :D sorry I was gone so long, college was repressing me with dull homework and final exams. But I am done and out. Hope the work didn't kill my muse.

*.*.*

Richard wasn't home when I woke up, making it the perfect time to check up on mom. How completely pathetic was I, that I had to wait for him to leave just to see my own mom? But he'd start growling at me for something I didn't do, then mom would get sad that I hadn't visited her, which would make her more sick, which would make Richard hit me.

She was up and reading in her bed when I came in.

"Hey there stranger," she smiled. I loved and hated these rebound days. She would be all better one day, filling me was false hope, that I stupidly let grow, no matter how many times this happened, and then she'd crashed back harder.

"Hey," I greeted.

Her brow creased at my camera. "That's a different one then last time. What happened to the other one?" she asked.

"I dropped it at a party helping some girl, it got pretty messed up," I lied. Well it wasn't really a lie but it wasn't the truth either. I tried not to lie to her, ever, especially now. I didn't want any half-truths between us and now I had the biggest one ever. That was the only downside to the whole thing.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby," she said, making me blush. I'm the only teenage guy who still let's his mom call him that and loves it. But she's my mom, the only woman I've ever been whipped over…for now.

"So, this girl…what's she like and is she the one who gave you the new camera?' she asked glowing a little like one of the peppy girls at my school at the mention of scandalous gossip.

"Her name's Saphira. She's nice, mom; very different from most girls but fun to be around," I said. I didn't know much besides the fact she wasn't air-headed, idiotic, and vain and mean like the others.

"You should ask her out. Certainly sounds unique," she said. I so did not want to talk about the possibility of me dating with anyone, let alone my mom. But mom had been waiting practically forever for this moment. And it sucked that the first girl I ever talked about wouldn't be what she wanted it to be.

"It wouldn't work," I said flatly. "How come?" she asked head cocked confused.

Because she's fucking hot and awesome, and I'm not. "I thought she was a guy when I first saw her," I answered. While technically when I first saw her I thought she was a bitch for letting me get my ass handed to me.

Mom winced in sympathy. "Yeah, we don't like that very much," she said.

No kidding. "Besides, she's not interested in a relationship," I said. Even with the limited time together, it was easy to see she had no problem getting what she wanted; guys would fall with a bat of her eye. If she turned down the quarterback and president then she sure as hell wasn't going to go for the loser loner with a camera. And she had only done that because she was nice. But she didn't go around giving away fancy cameras to everyone.

"Some of the best relationships happen when we weren't looking," mom said sagely. "There aren't a lot of good men out there, so most just stop looking and that's when it hits you. Be open to good things or you'll miss out on the best parts of life. This isn't a dream where you'd have to eventually wake up, its life; your life. And what's life without risk? I just don't want to see you give up before you try," she said.

I felt my throat close up with emotion and even if I wanted to talk, tears choked what air was left. Finally, I managed to laugh off the emotions. "Since when did you become a fairy godmother?"

"I thought I taught you, your mama could be anything, even magical. However, I will be more reasonable with the time. Now take that glossy camera and go get her, tiger. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo," she laughed, tapping my nose.

I let out a shaky chuckle; I haven't had one of these moments with my mom in so long. It was so easy to imagine her in perfect health instead of dying when she was practically glowing in happiness for her son. I owe Saphira a hundred times over for giving me this camera and letting me catch this moment.

It wasn't that I didn't want her, but then I wanted a lot of things and I never got any of them. After a while I stopped asking, now this one had fallen into my lap-literally. What would make her any different from the other things? Why would she chose this mess I called life? But with mom's blessing I would at least try and hope this one time I was good enough.

Suddenly, a horn went off outside.

"That's Matt," I said, leaning down to kiss her cheek. "Have fun, tiger. Love you," she said. "Love you too," I said savoring the words. No telling how much longer I could say them back.

*.*.*

"I'm telling you guys this is gonna do wonders for us in the babe department," Steve informed us, casually tossing a baseball in the air and catching it. "The comics all say a girl can't resist a guy with powers. It's the ultimate turn on," he chuckled.

This was the reason I didn't hang out with guys like this: the guys that used women as a scoreboard. I know what you're thinking, I'm a guy too, but my mom raised an old fashion gentleman with respect for women and I wasn't going to disappoint her. Plus I didn't want a casual fling, I wanted something real; a future, seeing as how I didn't seem to have much of one.

"Hey Matt, I don't want to leave my bike out front. Cool if I bring it back," Saphira shouted from the front.

"Sure," he shouted back.

As much as I should not want to be around her, what with the rising attraction, I liked being near her because she was the only non-family or really anyone that didn't make me feel stupid and trashy. I said I would try but I wasn't that hopeful. At the very least we would be friends and I could call her to see my mom and maybe have a fake relationship to make mom happy. No, that was wrong. People that get into those types of deals usually get bit in the ass, and with my past beat downs there wasn't much of it left.

"Oh man this would make panty raids way easier," Steve laughed.

I rolled my eyes, the way guys thought of girls was stupid but seeing as I hadn't talked to a girl since I was thirteen I had no idea how being with girls effected your mind. Apparently having sex for a guy made their mind go to shit and had them thinking of little else afterwards. Guess that was the benefit of never having sex. I was able to think of more in-depth things. It wasn't constantly at the forefront of my list of things to do. Although it would be nice to do before I turned forty. But if I did actually get a girlfriend she would be treated like a princess, but like I said I needed a girl firrr…

_What the hell_ just walked into Matt's backyard? Because it sure wasn't Saphira, more like a goddess divine.

She was wearing tight black jeans that hugged her hips, black leather ankle boots, a white cotton low cut T with a black vest that wrapped behind her neck and left little to the imagination in regards to her feminine shape. And we're guys, our imagination's pretty active as it was, were frozen like liquid nitrogen. And all this off was topped off with a black ribbon choker with a cross resting at the hollow of her throat as she walked a wicked looking motorcycle in.

"Sorry, I'm late," she said strolling over to us. Somehow I manage to put my eyes back into my head and look at Matt and Steve, who were wide eyed and their mouths gapped like fish.

"Catching flies, boys?" she teased. Matt shook himself off first and took out his phone as an excuse to look somewhere other than the Saphira. Steve was not so kind.

"Were, were those there Friday?" he stuttered. Then it hit me just what had been lying on top of me after the cave. Pretty sure I looked like an actual freaking tomato but thankfully the fact that no one was looking at me worked in my favor. I expected her to get mad at the comment of her person but she just grinned.

"Have been since I was thirteen. Now is anyone here ever going to think I'm a guy again?" she asked. It was impossible to think of her like that now, not with what she wore. It was burned into our skulls. We all shook our heads no. "Good, mission accomplished. Don't expect this all the time; it was just to prove a point."

Point well proven.

"So what are we going to work on first?" she asked.

"Uh we were thinking we could throw the ball and make it stop without touching it?" Matt said or asked. Wow, she was seriously screwing with us. I don't think she got how much Steve was still looking at her, which against my better judgment, jealously flared in the pit of my stomach. He shouldn't look at her like that; Lord knew what his jock nature would do to her.

"Sounds simple enough. Game on, you and Steve go first," she said.

"Why us?" Matt asked, still not looking up.

"Because Andrew has the camera, you all know what I can do – Steve stop staring- but we haven't seen what you can do. So by default you up," she explained. No arguing with that logic.

Alright time to get started.

"Matt, dude, put your phone down," I instructed, trying to get the perfect shot for the exercise.

"Okay, okay," he muttered, but didn't do it. Unbelievable, he was the one stressing the seriousness of this.

"Turn it off," I stated firmly. "Okay, okay," he said, listening to me this time.

"You guys ready? Alright, Steve can you move a little to the left?" I asked.

"Here?" he questioned, as he flipped the ball up and balanced it on his fingers.

"Um…," I said focusing on the focus and trying to ignore Saphira, who was standing closer then I like. "Yeah that's good. And then Matt, can you just go right in front of Steve?"

Matt gestured if he was okay. "Um, yeah, perfect. Okay, this is the ball test," I directed.

Steve gave the starting pitch…and _nailed_ Matt in the face! Steve tried to check on him but the sincerity was lost as he jumped on and around him, laughing as hard as Saphira and I. Matt waved him and his fake apologies off irritably.

"You said underhand," he growled, stomping into his house. "I tried, man. I tried," Steve broke off laughing.

"My turn," he said hotly, snatching the ball up, while pressing a bag of ice to his face.

I stood up on a lawn chair to get a better view of his revenge. Steve caught onto it too, at the last second.

"Whoa, whoa," he warned, "You said underhand, right?"

"Yeah, it's underhand," Matt assured with a hint of amusement in his tone. Matt threw the ball down at the ground; it _bounced _and hit Steve under his jaw. He went down, while Matt bayed like a donkey. I almost fell off the chair laughing so hard myself. Saphira catching me was the only thing that stopped that, and I tried to not think about what her being that close to me did, or the warmth that came through.

Yes, I am attracted to her. Yes, I would like a relationship, and see my mom light up at the mention of it. But I am not going to crash and burn on the last little remains of anything I have. So until she makes a neon lit-up sign move on me, I'm not going to do anything. I'm use to suffering in silence.

Steve got back up determined to redeem himself. "You're not gonna get me this time. I'm on it," he said, psyched up.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Matt said innocently. He pitched the ball, and it freaking curved like something out of Wanted and uppercut Steve. I don't think it really hurt him, or if he was still numb from the last hit, because he exaggerated the fall like a dunce.

"The crowd goes wild!" Matt shouted. He jumped around his backyard like an idiot. What a moron, but for once I understood exactly why. Doing all this was like getting high without the drugs. Pure exhilaration.

"Andrew, Andrew, you do it. It's awesome," Matt yelled. He was as jazzed up as his little brother was on sugar.

"Okay, okay. Um, could you hold this?" I asked Saphira, who took it without complaint.

Okay, I can do this. I can do this. I've spent every second since the morning after doing this. But not on a fast moving target. No, none of that now. Shake it off. Focus. Matt's gonna pitch to me. Steve was standing a little too close to Fae for my liking.

Whoa, when did she become Fae? We were not familiar enough to start using nicknames. And why should it bother me who stands next to her? She's not mine, no matter how much I want her to be. Stop it. Focus. Then just as I was going to look away, Fa- Saphira began gesturing urgently at me, but not so much that the other two noticed. She pointed at Matt and then curled her hand into a fist. What did that mean? Obviously Matt was up to something and what about her fist? Strong, hard… a hard ball. Matt was going to hurl that ball at my face.

I felt my hands turn into claws in my long sleeves. Anger rushed white hot in my veins. Why was it always me? Why did everyone, even my own damn family pick on me and think of me as nothing? Well, I'd show them, I'd show them all. I could finally do something about the shit they threw at me. I felt my resolve harden and wrap its way around my spine, giving me a few inches. I forgot all the doubts I had on my life. The time for hesitation was long over. I was sick and tired of being the quiet, shy punching bag. It was my time to shine and out lap those that laughed at me.

Pressure like a warning for a headache formed at the front of my head and I zoned out everything around me except the ball. The second it left Matt's hand it came at me like the Matrix, slow as a snail. I pictured simply reaching my hand out and catching it.

I came back to everyone flipping out. My vision cleared, and I saw the ball floating still inches from my face. I did it. Loud laughter erupted from me, and a broad smile followed. This was insane. I did this. Everyone could make of me for everything and anything but not this. Never this. It was mine.

"Oh, that is crazy!" Steve shouted.

"Oh my God," Matt yelled.

"Bravo," Saphira cheered, beaming with pride and relief.

This was amazing. I _felt _amazing. I was finally doing something worth anything, and I was good at it. Richard was wrong. Mom was right; I could leave this all behind and finally see the light at the end of the dark claustrophobic tunnel that was my life. But I wasn't use to ever having good things happen to me without immediate repercussions. The fact that it was _me_ that did this was still insanely foreign to my mind. So much so that I couldn't stop myself from pointing at the ball- still frozen- in awe.

"Oh man," Matt sighed, calming down. "Oh shit, dude, you're bleeding," he said. The concern and slight panic in his tone broke me out of my haze.

"Oh shit," I murmured quietly to myself. It wasn't as bad as the others but it was still something to worry about.

"Get a tissue," Steve giggled, much manlier this time, but it was still odd to hear.

That giggle seemed to cut through the tension my nosebleed caused, enough to have Matt came out of his shell. He did that by forgetting all about my well known issue with personal space, wrapping his arm around my neck, giving me a noogie, and shouting right in my ear, "You did it!" all impressed and happy.

It felt wrong to have him act like the cousin I remembered after all the grumbling and abandonment. It felt hollow, that he was only doing this now because of the powers and my talent for it. But there was also a part that I hadn't known was there, that was touched by my cousin actually acting like my cousin…if only for a little while.

"You get that fixed up, Steve and I are gonna practice some more. Saphira, you want in?" he asked.

"Um, no thank you. I'll just check out your lawn," she said.

"Ok," he answered hesitantly.

The second I sat down, Saphira turned the camera on me, flashing me a charming smile. "So Mr. Detmer, what can you tell the millions people watching back home, about what it feels like to be here today?" she asked.

At first I was a little dazed that she pull the almost the same crazy directing thing I had, but with a better newscaster voice. But I couldn't stop myself from answering; there was something in her easy smile that made it feel okay.

"Out of this world. I never thought I'd feel something like this," I answered honestly. It was extremely odd that I found it so easy to tell someone I hardly knew exactly what I was thinking when my own family wasn't privy to such informative. She just had this openness about her that drew you in and let you knew without asking that anything you told her would never be said to anyone else. How I knew that I don't know, I just hoped it didn't come back to haunt me.

"And there you have it folks. We'll be right back after these short messages. Till then please enjoy this comedy reel," she directed, turning the camera on Steve and Matt.

"You are crazy," I said, and for the first time it wasn't an insult. It was actually playful. Sheesh still haven't had sex and already I'm seriously screwed.

"Thank you. If I weren't, I'd be normal and that's boring as hell," she stated matter-of-fact. Then plugged in her IPod.

Taking that as the 'this conversion is over' sign, but for once I didn't feel the usual peeved off feeling, I turned back to Steve and Matt. Then jumped out of my skin as loud orchestra music blared behind me.

Saphira was leaning back on her elbows, face tilted toward the sun, looking completely at peace despite the deafening music right in her ears. I tapped her shoulder. She paused it and took one out.

"What are you listening to?" I asked.

"You wouldn't like it," she said simply.

That one little comment had my anger flaring again. I had zero decisions and opportunities, from people I've known for a long time. I sure as hell wasn't going to have assumptions from some girl I just met, no matter how hot she was.

I guess my annoyance showed, because she blinked. "No offense. It's just guys don't like classical or Broadway music. Unless, of course, their more you know, _creative _than most, and aside from that little self-conscious moment on Friday, you aren't."

How in the hell did she know that? That was like a two second episode. Again she noticed.

"I want to be an investor. Kind of like a Sherlock Holmes deal but with more positive feelings and less people wanting to hit me. I figure since I'm on the sidelines of life with no one bothering me, I might as well observe," she explained. "That's why I don't like Steve. Don't get me wrong he's a nice guy. He's just too jock, you know? He has a girlfriend, but he also has multiple flings with other girls. You can tell by his belt, the holes are more frayed from constant use."

She really was a mini Sherlock Holmes, and that seriously freaked me out. If she got that, and she wasn't wrong, I was unfortunately privy to the talk in the locker room, then God only knew what she could find on me. I was still a little bruised from Richard. But then if she did get all that then she wasn't saying anything. She didn't advertise her findings. Which was nice but there was also the danger of if you pissed her off she'd rat you out and there be no rock to hide under.

"So guys don't like Broadway music, huh?" I asked, changing the topic.

"Well, it's not that they don't like it, it's just you can't get them to go unless they take their girls to butter them up for bed. And it's their loss because it's not just romance in its highest, there's depression, war, and dark angst like Twilight but real. The kind that makes you feel and cry. It's watching a non-happy ending and being so moved to your soul that you imagine them together anyway and you're inspired to go out and make it a happy ending," she said passionately.

Hot damn that was amazing. The only time you hear this stuff is in a Brave heart movie or something. It made it even harder to find something to not like on her, even the crazy was hot. That was not helping my confidence to talk to her. Passionate, gorgeous, smart; a triple threat, meaning you struck out before home plate.

"Mind if I…" I asked gesturing to the IPod. "Sure."

I turned it down to a manageable volume and listened. I only made it through two songs, but it was enough to see her point. One was some girl trying to be good but always getting the short stick in everything.* The other was a guy singing about this girl he was obsessed with.** I finally got the expression sing your heart out, you could feel it in their tone.

I glanced over at Saphira, who had gone back to her original position, in a world of her own. At that moment I realized, she is the closest thing I had ever had to a friend in years. Someone who listened, saw, and helped me when everyone else just talked about helping me and never did anything.

It only sucked because now that I had it, it wasn't enough. Friends are great but a temporary fix. Family, true family, like mom, stayed for this life and the next. Don't get me wrong I was grateful, but when you have nothing permanent, well nothing good that's permanent; it's the one thing you wish for.

And maybe that was my problem. Wishing didn't give you hope, it made you see what was missing from your life. Constantly, seeing what was missing from your life made for very little in the way of personality. Looking at the peace next to me, made me wonder what one had to do in life to not care what the world thought and just _be_. I'd give anything, if I had it, to be in her world. Everything was better there, the powers helped, but I still had to go home to Richard and wait for mom.

Then I noticed Steve and Matt were huddled together in a way that spelled trouble. It hit me the second the ball went airborne, they were aiming at Saphira. It wasn't a hard ball like mine but enough that it'd hurt. "Saphira!"

She didn't move or flinch but the ball stopped dead an inch from her face. When her eyes opened, they had such a sharp glint of mischief, which made Steve and Matt freeze all over again. She got up in one easy motion, the ball circling around her.

"I could have sent this back at your face but this is more fun, don't you think?" she…purred? A faint but easy to notice 'don't-fuck-with-me' aura whirled around her. I had never been more turned on in my life. Smug had never been so sexy. Whoa easy Andrew. I gotta tone down the testosterone before I drown in it. I really don't want her noticing _that_.

"You boys ever play Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland for Gameboy?" she asked casually. We nodded. "You know that mini game with the frying pans and the bombs? I was thinking we could do the same thing but with less explosions. I hope."

She tossed the ball to Steve, who finally caught it. He lobbed it to Matt, who made spin around behind his back to me. I sent to Saphira, making it do a flip in the air. She sent to Steve making it spiral. He sent it back to me. It was a curve so I had to lean out to catch it.

"Okay. Pop up, ready?" I asked Matt. I sent up high and he stopped it right before it hit the ground.

"Alright let's speed things up," Matt grinned, tossing to Saphira.

It sped up alright. Soon the ball was a blur in the air, never touching us or the ground. I realized at some point, since we kept switching up the pattern, one of us was going it miss. Sure enough I tossed the ball to Matt and it hit him right where do not want it to hit. He fell groaning in pain, while Steve cheered, thankful it wasn't him and Saphira collapsed in a giggling fit.

Matt got up slowly with a groan. "Let's take a lunch break," he suggested.

"Yeah no need to endanger the family," Steve laughed.

"That is if the weed hasn't done that already," Saphira said. It had no emphasis, no meaning. Just one of those bullshit comments you say but don't mean.

"How the hell do you know that?" Matt said panic in his tone.

"Calm down, I'm not gonna rat cha out. Whatever you do is your business. But could you _please_ spare my nose the torture of having to smell you after you've bathed yourself in cheap nauseous cologne?" she implored, hopping on the counter.

"You're in my English class?" he asked.

"I sit right behind you in English," she grumbled, then violently began munching on her chips.

Steve ignored this whole conversion, in favor of attacking his food like he'd never see it again. Matt, moving on now that she wouldn't tell, picked at his food like he had the weight of the world on him. To that I scoffed in my head. Aside from hiding pot he had no problem, no real problem.

At that point Steve came up for air and fired off what had to be the most tactless question ever right out of left field.

"I got a question, what's the deal with your name?"

Saphira's eyes narrowed and her eyebrow went up. "Ask me that again, only this time phrase it in a way that doesn't make me want to hit you."

"Well, I mean it just sounds made up is all," he defended.

Pretty sure all names were made up. Columbus, Copernicus; defiantly. But yeah, no real life person had a name like hers.

"That's because it is. I made it up when I was nine when I had it legally changed to it. Here's the backstory, my first name was Maria. But some kid with a head cold came along and called me Mari_o._"

Steve cracked up, laughing like the biggest moron ever. Matt was hiding it in his hand. Saphira looked patient but her nails rapping across the counter said how pissed off she really was.

"Ya done yet?" she asked. "Course after that, no one that go. So I asked my parents at the same while they were in the middle of their divorce. Mom was all like 'Hell no', and dad out of pure spite was all 'hell yes'."

"Wait a minute, so your dad got into more of a legal headache just to piss your mom off?" Matt asked.

"No more than he usually did. My dad's a badass lawyer, with his own firm. Cleaning my mom out of her money and child viewings while at the same time filing for a new name is not the busiest week he's ever had," she shrugged.

"I'm sorry," I said.

She looked at me confused. "Why?"

"You don't get to see your mom anymore."

A small bitter chuckle slipped passed her lips. "That's not a bad thing. The reason for the divorce was because she decided to take advantage of my dad always at work to have fun with every guy within a three mile radius. So not really all that torn up. Been Saphira ever since."

Why did I get the feeling there was more to that then she said? It was probably nothing it was just weird that she seemed too calm with it. How could you be so at peace when you don't have a mom around?

"That still doesn't explain why your dad let this be your name," Steve said.

"I picked it because it's the name of Eragon's dragon in my favorite book," she smiled.

"And your dad thought that was okay?" Matt asked in disbelief.

"He loved it. Said it fit because I have a tendency to 'spit fire'," she laughed. "Besides have you ever heard of someone with a dragon's name getting made fun of?"

No, but then I've never heard of anyone with a dragon's name. It fit that her name backed up her edge. She didn't take shit from anyone.

"So it's just you and your dad?" Steve asked something soft in his tone that I couldn't tell. Not that I was thinking too much about it. Even though the words weren't to me, I still had to keep from flinching. Just you and your dad. That was my ultimate nightmare on the verge of becoming my reality. Mom's love for me kept him from being noticeable. Once she was gone I wouldn't be able to leave the house, if I wanted to.

"Yep. Only he's more like a fun uncle. He lets me do whatever I want. No curfew, as long as I get straight A's. I can't do drugs, or have sex, but I can drink if I don't drive or crash outdoors. He doesn't tell me what to do, so much as he makes 'suggestions' that would do me good to listen to and he rarely does that. And he's not judgmental at all. I mean he was completely cool when I told him about all this…"

"WHAT?" we exploded.

She told her dad! We never talked about this because it was so obvious.

Steve had, unfortunately, bit into his sandwich, choked then spewed it all across the table.

"Why, Why would you tell him that?" Matt demanded, in-between hitting Steve on the back.

"Dude I can't lie to him. He didn't get to be a badass lawyer but not sniffing out lies. Plus I almost flooded my house and bled out through my nose. Laid back or not that kind of shit raises a parental red flag," she fired back. "Besides he didn't jump the gun, he sat down and listen to the whole mess, then asked what I wanted to do and I said I wanted to see how it went. All he said was this didn't get me out of my chores, and then offered to send us to my mom's place in Pasadena once we got a handle on this to haunt her. We could do it up Paranormal Activity style," she smiled.

"That's great for you and all. But how are you so sure he won't rat us out," Matt asked.

"Because to rat you out would be to rat me out. And he's not doing to do that because I'm all he's got," she answered.

And just like that I was on board. One thing I would always understand is having nothing. When you have so little you fight like hell to keep it.

"Ow!" Matt shouted by the cleaning closet. A broom fell out smacking him right in the head like something out of Tom and Jerry.

Saphira and I burst out laughing at my cousin's new accident prone self. Steve, still getting over the sandwich, choked out a chuckle.

"It's not funny," Matt grouched.

"Yes it is," I grinned.

"My mom's subtle way of getting everyone to clean," he muttered, propping it against the wall.

"Broom?" Saphira murmured to herself. She had this look on her face; it was a mix of interest and suspicion. Then a hushed giggled slipped out. "Andrew you still have my IPod?"

"Yeah," I said handing it over. "What are you doing?"

"Fulfilling a dream I've had since 2000. You're going to want this on film," she grinned.

She messed with her IPod a little then hit the play button. Soft music filled the kitchen, her attention solely on the broom. The combination of the music and the broom finally hit me. No way.

Her hand started waving in time to the music and the broom began sweeping across the floor without anyone touching it. Steve started laughing so hard he did that thing where you hit the table like it was going to help you get air. Matt's eyes looked about ready to pop clean out of his head.

"Andrew, you gotta try this it's fun," Saphira smiled. No arguing with that.

After I gave up my camera and she reset the music I gave it a go. At first it was a little off but soon I was sweeping off the floor. Pun intended. Doing this got me thinking of something I had always wanted to try.

"Hey Matt, you still have those Legos?" I asked.


	4. the good

I'm back :) sorry if the wait was long, but hey it's summer!

Hope this update meets your expectations. I really like all of your comments and reviews.

*.*.*

I haven't played with Legos since I was eleven. It was the last time we came here as a family, when we told my aunt and uncle about mom. Matt and I got kicked out so they could have 'an adult conversion'. I never knew what they talked about, only that my uncle most likely phrased something the wrong way and Richard blew up, and that was before the drinking.

But anyway Matt and I were playing with these. Everything had been so much easier back then. There was no over thinking anything, just do what came into our heads at the time and nothing to stop us. Nothing was permanent. You still saw yourself as the bath towel capped hero. And those times became precious once reality decided to kick the crap out of you.

But Legos were ageless; even at age ninety-nine, on my deathbed I'd still light up like a kid making a mix-matched simple four wall house. And now I could get a part of that back with this new power.

"Nice room Matt," I laughed as we came in. My room wasn't all that clean either but at least you could see the floor.

"Yeah, yeah shut up," he grumbled, picking up stuff at random for some idea of cleanliness, only to throw in the corner. "Spread out. I know it's in here somewhere."

I was a little afraid to touch anything in case it bit me. Matt, however was tearing through the room like a human tornado, making an even bigger mess then before, finding nothing, and probably burying it further. Steve was leaning against the door answering texts from his friends. Saphira had disappeared, or so I thought until a voice came from inside the closet.

"Um, wow. I know car magazines have girls in them but this is a bit much," Saphira said, coming out with the most crooked grin curling at the corners of her mouth. She held up a vintage truck magazine, then pulled the flap back and revealed it was really a Playboy.

I have never seen Matt get as red in the face as he did when he saw her holding up his secret porn. And I got it all on camera.

He snatched it out of her hand and shoved it under his mattress. Very original, Matt.

"We are looking for Legos. Why the hell are you looking at a truck magazine anyway? You're a girl," he demanded.

"Glad to know you remember that fact. But you forget, I'm also the girl that hotwired your car. How else would I do that if I didn't know cars?" she asked. "Guess this proves men really don't buy those for the articles."

Matt looked ready to crawl into a hole and never come out. Steve was laughing harder than when he pegged Matt in the face today. I wasn't doing much better. I didn't get why Matt was so upset about this. Sure he had gotten caught but that wasn't the worst she knew about him, he was a guy it was like expected of us. She said she wouldn't use it unless he gave her a reason. She as a girl should be throwing a fit about how those types of magazines are offensive to women but she wasn't showing much past 'you're busted' like she did with most of her dirt. And what did it really matter to her? She didn't know him well enough to judge, even though I doubt she would ever judge anyone on the skeletons in their closets. She'd probably hint blackmail to get them to leave her alone but never judge. And anyway, we were all fresh friends still testing the ground around each other. We were thrown into this whatever it was, and like it or not we were in this together.

"Dude, relax. The fact it's a classic trick from Back to the Future makes it cooler, however points off for putting it under you're mattress," she shrugged. "And if that doesn't calm you down, here's a peace offering," she said pulling out a tube of Legos.

Matt jumped on them fast; happy for anything that would get us to forget about his magazine. His day was seriously sucking today; pegged in the face, his pot habit ratted out, hit with a broom, nailed where no man wants to be, and had his perverted side exposed. Usually these types of shit storms are attracted to me. Is it bad for me to be happy that it isn't me?

God I felt like a five year old again with how hyper I was about this. I can't remember the last time I was almost squirming with barely contained excitement.

"Matt put the music on," I said. When the first notes filled the room I couldn't hold back the laughter that bubbled up or the quiet 'yes'. I felt light and free for the first time since I was a kid. Reality had been my constant bitch until this group of misfits came together then she backed off long enough for me to breathe.

Matt began to wave his hands around making two come up and tried to put them together. It was a nice form but didn't get any results.

"Matt, you have to pretend like you're squeezing them with your hands," I instructed. It was really simple with small things like this. You just picture like you're doing it and it happens. The bigger things that was a work in progress, steady progress.

"That's what I'm going," he protested. Was it too much to ask that you listen to me for once? Maybe that's why I never say anything because no one listens. Why bother?

"Matt, try it like this," Saphira said reaching out. Two more rose up like the first. They spun around each for a second then with a pinching motion from Saphira they joined together. "See easy. Just do what Andrew says," she said, shooting me a brief smile. Or maybe one person listens.

"I can't do it, dude. I give up," he sighed in defeat, and let them drop. "You do it. You're better at this."

Say what? He admitted it. He said it out loud, I was better at something then him. Usually he's complaining about what I do to get me to do something or dissing it, but he never gave a legit complement without being forced.

"Oh really, am I?' I asked surprised.

"Just do it," he demanded.

I leaned forward ready to school him. It was rare and borderline unheard of for me to be better at anything then him. I'd be stupid not to milk this for all it's worth.

I looked at all the Lego's spread out waiting for me to turn them into something. Easily the right pieces came at my wordless command and went to form the picture in my head. Effortlessly the Space Needle began to appear in all its mismatched Lego glory. Steve was so shocked dropped the Twinkie he was about to eat. That and the feeling of doing something so well that it through the people around me for a loop made me laugh.

"Dude, I hate you," Matt cried, as it all came together.

Pride of a job well done was something I could get use to fast.

"I'm impressed, man. I'm impressed," Steve congratulated giving me a high five. Kudos from the quarterback; a great day for sure.

"Show-off," Saphira chided softly.

"That was awesome," Matt said before he had to go back to being the asshole and smashed my work down.

"Oh man that was not cool. That was not cool," I said offended and mad. Why was it that I couldn't have a moment that lasted more than five minutes? I had so little of these that he couldn't step back and let me have it.

"My Lego's," he quipped childishly. I wanted to smack him so bad. For some reason, I still do not get way I did this, but I looked over at Saphira as if she was going to retaliate for me when I wouldn't. But I did it and she looked as pleased by Matt's mature act as I was.

"Ya know, he's right they are his… So let's give them to him," she drawled. With that several of them rose and shot towards Matt.

"Ow. Ow. Ow! Quit it!" he shouted.

"Use da force Matt," she replied trying her best not to laugh.

Steve, who I don't get how he hasn't laughed up a lung by now, was once again gasping for air from laughing too hard, at Matt getting his ass handed to him by Lego's. I was laughing so hard tears are running down my face. Suddenly a loud ring tone cut through the good mood. Steve's face immediately lost all its laughter and color.

"Oh shit," he cried tossed the phone away as if it were going to attack him.

"New from Apple; the IBite. Holds thirty-two gigs of memory, never drops a call, and is capable of biting you when you have a hostile person trying to get a hold of you," Saphira cited, sarcastically.

"That's my girls ring. She hasn't been too happy with me recently," he explained sheepishly.

"And not answering her calls is going to make her happier? All this does is giving her more reason to be mad and vengeful enough to call in her girlfriends," Saphira said.

"She won't do that… Would she?" he asked himself, as he checked his phone. From what I got from her last Friday was she would have no problem calling in the troops to mess with anyone who screwed, or avoided her. She had no problem calling out shots; she was head cheerleader for Pete sake.

"STEVEN MONTGUMERY!" a loud voice erupted through the speaker. Wow, rallying the troops gave one a great pair of lungs to leave the kind of loud, angry message. "What the hell is going on with you? I don't care if you have something going on but at least the damn decency to call me or text you jerk. That's the point of a girlfriend; to talk about things, in case you forgot!"

At this point Steve seemed to think he was in the clear. Because he looked seriously uninterested in her angry tirade.

"You've been hanging out with those guys for the past three days. You're not returning _any _of my calls, texts, e-mails, IMs, anything."

He was mocking and mimicking her words. It was weird that he could make fun of the same thing he was just terrified of not a few seconds ago. But then again who knew what went on the head of a jock. It was a tar pit I would go through.

"I'm not stupid. And what's this I've heard from about fifty over people that you're been asking around for some other girl? What is going on with you? You're hiding something from me and you better call me back! Love you," she ended with quietly.

"Wow," Matt stated.

"I'm gonna get a brick through my window. I am legitimately scared," Steve flustered. I laughed at the mental picture that popped, too funny.

"I have an election coming up and I do not need this right now," he continued.

Selfish, much? Loud and controlling as she sounds she did sound like she cared for him and he had been ignoring her. Granted it was a bit much but with his track closet record it wasn't much of a stretch. And his biggest concern was an election that he already had in bag was more important than a girl that really liked him. I'd kill for that and treated it like nothing. I wanted so badly for something like that to happen to me, and if it did it'd be my forever.

Yet even with an ungrateful jock and a cousin who just wasn't happy unless he was knocking me down and a girl I was nowhere near as close as I wanted, I felt at ease for the first time in a long time. Maybe it wasn't Steve and Matt that made the back of my head nervous. Maybe it was because it was what every normal guy had that I never did. Gossip and joking laughter without the constant fear or worry you would do something wrong and get verbally abused or hit. No judgment at all. I wanted this, dreamed of it. Now that it was here I couldn't make myself take it. To sit back and enjoy it fully when I thought at any point something would happen to take it away. It was easier when I didn't have it then I could pretend it wasn't all that great, now that I knew how great it was once it was gone it hit me harder. If I never knew then I'd never realize how empty life really was. I mean I knew but not to a full extent.

Same with Saphira. Friendship was painful enough. Love was soul crashing. God, I'm depressing. If I had any time in my head alone to think I knocked down all the good things, however little they were. Now good had been happening to me all day, Matt was getting the heat for once. And I shied away from it sure that the bad was right around the corner. That freedom Saphira showed in the backyard was what I always wanted. And why couldn't I have it? The only thing that stopped me was me. From now on I was going to enjoy the long overdue awesomeness in my life. I'd cross that bridge when it came up, till then I'll savor every moment.

"Dude I can't get mine to talk to me for more than a minute. Why are you asking us for advice on girls?" Matt chuckled.

"Because we're his mistress," I answered. I have no idea why, it just stupidly slipped out. But it did fit; we were the ones Steve was with when he wasn't with his girl.

"Come on man. No offense but I could do better then you guys," Steve joked.

"That's funny, because we're hideous," Matt taunted.

"Speak for yourself," I fired back.

"But seriously guys, what the hell am I going do with Kristi?" Steve asked.

"If only we had someone who could talk to our girls and put in a good word for us?" Matt suggested looking at Saphira, who was making a wall of Lego's the old fashion way.

Without glancing up, she sighed a soft yet firm, "No."

"But-"

"No. You are not going to sell me out to get yourself a girl toy or feed me to your head hunter girlfriend. You boys want to work this out then man up and deal with it. However, if you want legal advice, my time runs 250 in hour," she explained.

"250 dollars?"

"My dad charges a thousand, you all are getting the semi friends discount. My dad always says information is invaluable but you can give it a price."

_Charlie. We're going to Candy Mountain, Charlie. Charlie. Charlie. Charlie._

Saphira face cracked into a wide smile as that God awful unicorn's voice sang through the room. "Speak of the devil. H-hello?" she laughed, held the phone away to cover it.

"You still have that damn ringtone?" a deep but clear voice asked.

"I can't help it, it's too funny. Whatcha want?" she asked, and then the smile faded to confusion. Her eyes darted around before going back to the phone. "Sorry, dad think I stepped into an alternate universe because it just sounded like you said you were calling to check up on me?" she said sound seriously confused.

Why she was confused by that I didn't get. It was natural for _good_ parents to ask that. Not that I would know.

She scoffed. "Dad, you haven't called to ask that since I got my black belt?"

Why did this not surprise me? Of course she would have something like that. She didn't take shit from anyone and if anyone was dumb enough to mess with her she'd easily correct them. She wasn't just smart, she also kicked ass and had no problem using either to get what she wanted. But she restrained herself from showing it all, yet it didn't seem like she was repressed. She did say you'd never know what you'd get around her. She was comfortable in her own skin and that just happen to look like many and all of them was just the tip of who she was as a whole. Ugh confusing creature. Major turn-on. Oh, not this again.

"Dad," she whined. "Just because there are three guys and a house doesn't make this a Project X scenario," she said resigned. "Yes there's a jock, but- Yes one smokes pot, but he- Yes one of them has a camera. Dad this is ridico-" she protested getting annoyed like Matt did when his brother was doing one teeny tiny thing over and over until you lost your mind.

"Fine, fine. You know what dad you got me. That is exactly what we're doing. We're having a wild and crazy, drunk off our asses, high as a kite party between the four of us and later I'm gonna call Milo over just to shove him in the oven. And while I'm plowed, I'll call Hugh and tell him who keeps putting his stuff in lime Jell-O," she said evilly smug.

"Well that's what you get for telling your wanna be inspector daughter about what you do at work. Now the real reason for this call? Yeah, sounds good to me," she agreed then frowned deeply. "Nuh-uh, not Black Swan. Because I don't want to be anywhere near you when Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis get it on. Counter argument lawyer boy. Dead Bodies and Thai food. That way you get your dark mind fuck movie and sex, and I get to see Andrew Scott topless. Alright I'll race you home. See ya," she finished then hung up. "Well I have a movie date with my old man. Then I have to help him with a case."

"Wait a minute isn't there a whole lawyer client privacy thing?" Steve asked.

"Yes Mr. Politian, but the law doesn't say I can't be inspired by a movie we watch and I relate it to a real life problem. If it helps it's just pure coincidence," she explained, wriggling her eyebrows mischievously.

"I had a great time, Matt, and thanks for letting me clean you house. I'll catch you guys at school. Don't find me I'll find you. Latters," she said.

"Anyone else think she is extremely weird," Matt asked, as soon as the back door shut.

"She's just different," I defended weakly. I really shouldn't have said anything like I usually did. Because when I do Matt either annoys the hell out of me or teases me to death by embarrassment.

"You like her don't you?" he teased.

"No," I denied too fast. Matt wasn't convinced but then I didn't fight too hard.

"Well, I know one thing, she likes guys named Andrew topless," Steve laughed.

"Oh, shut up," I snapped. I did not need this. I was confused about it enough as it was. Then I saw the time, damn if I didn't get home soon Richard would have a legit reason for pounding my ass.

"Matt I need you to take me home." As fun as this had been I'd like to end on my own terms then have Richard calling and making a scene. There were too many calls tonight.

"I'll take you there," Steve offered. "My way of apology."

*.*.*

I dislike car rides. Usually one would say they hate them, but I've got bigger things in my life that actually deserve to be hated; this is not one of them. This is awkward, plain and simple. And they are always awkward either because of the silence when you flounder for something to say to fill said silence or talking about things that makes someone uncomfortable and they break off which leads back to the silence; it's a whole awkward, moronic cycle. Either way I don't like car rides.

"New camera's working out for you, look's good," Steve commented. Not too uncomfortable but with my experience it can go down. Only reason I answer is because it's rude not to and mom raised a gentleman and because of the stupid social contract everyone is bond to and like stupid things it just has a way of coming out.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, right?" I replied. I like my camera so I didn't have to fake excitement but the air in the car was tense delicate so it came out a little forced.

"Yeah, it's smaller. It shoot on type?"

"No, it just like records onto the camera," I chuckled at the sheer stupidity of this conversion. A quarterback talking to a loner about a camera. You can't make this up. "You know I just want to record all the stuff we can do, you know?"

"Yeah, but it's like all the time. You don't feel like it's a little weird? Like it puts a barrier between you and everyone else?" he asked hesitantly.

He hit the nail on the head. How in the hell did he guess one of the real reason I got my camera in the first place? This guy I've known for a grand total of four days knew nothing about me except I wore a zip-up hoodie in freshman year and was Matt's cousin. Now out of nowhere in the middle of a conversion about my camera he gets a deep part of me that I haven't told anyone. I had a feeling Saphira know some if not all of my life but she hadn't shined the flashlight in my face like I felt was going on with this conversion. The fact this conversion was even happing at all scared the hell out of me.

"Umm," I said stalling. "I don't know maybe I want a barrier," I replied sounding flippant but really I hoped he take the hint that I wanted him to leave me alone.

"So what's the story with your dad? What does he do?" Steve asked.

Oh dear God go back to the camera. This was what I meant with the universe was fast in paying me back for having my first happy and normal day in so long. Ironic at how screwed up I had to get to have a normal day.

I still have no idea why I answered his questioned. It was either that he asked so innocently like Saphira who didn't care about the answered Just wanted to talk to talk and could help if she knew or maybe it was the however small hope deep inside me that wanted to have a genuine friend that I wasn't in denial about.

"Um, my dad's a firefighter." For the first time in almost seven years I called him my dad.

"Okay, that's cool. Oh man that must have been awesome," he said tone getting more exciting at the end thinking we were getting out of the awkwardness.

_Was, _not anymore. Richard was never dad of the year. Before now he was a workaholic now he was an alcoholic. Only difference was back when he was crabby and tired he at least pat my on the head and smiled now I didn't want to be within a five mile radius of him. Thinking about it made what remained of my good mood go out the window like I was sure it would. I just could not have anyone even whatever Steve was to me thinking Richard was anything more than a miserable drunk abusive and sorry excuse of a father.

"Well, he was, I guess…"

"What happened?' he asked concerned.

He dropped the act.

"Uh I don't know. He didn't die or anything, he got injured on the job and now he collects the insurance." I explained. But really I think he did die, because the guy in my house wasn't the same man that was my dad. "So he doesn't really _do_ anything. He'll go out during the day but I don't know where he does." That wasn't completely true. I know he goes to some bar or something then comes back home drunk and angry, yell and hit me for all _his _faults.

"He drinks a lot…I know that much," I muttered to myself but loud enough for Steve to hear too.

Why in the hell did I say that? I have gone almost seven years without telling anyone or even implying it, not even Matt. Now I was telling a guy that may or may not become my first friend with no family obligation to do anything for me. He'd only pity me for this and I sure as hell didn't need that.

"I've actually been having some problems with my parents too," he admitted solemn.

"Oh yeah," I said awkward as hell.

Honestly, I didn't know how to respond to that. Of all the things he could have done with my begrudging confession I didn't expect him to relate to me. It caught me completely off guard. I don't do these types of sharing circle things. And what problem could he have? I believe in hiding what really goes on in your live, obviously, but what could possibly be wrong in his paradise. I don't mind playing the person you vent to just so long as you don't touch me but parents…I don't want the topic anywhere near me. I'm scared if they phrase it a certain why it's going to do something to screw me up and make the damns open. And once they're open you can't close them.

"Yeah. They're nothing like yours- I mean, not like that. I just... Never mind," he trailed off. Okay maybe he didn't know exactly what was going on in my life but it was clear whatever his problem was it messed him up kind of like me. I know how to fix the outside while the inside is fucked up beyond all recognition. Everyone has problems just different but no else damaging. Now I felt conflicted. For once I actually wanted an awkward conversion. I don't like opening up because I've been stabbed in the back enough to avoid it but I do like helping people.

"They've just been fighting a lot lately and I think my mom is actually cheating on my dad," he explained, his voice cracked. So that's why he looked so timid when Saphira talked about her parents. Even though she was happy with it he definitely wouldn't be if the same were to happen to his parents. Whatever she had against her mom he didn't. Hell Richard beat me like a drum but he loved my mom.

"Can you not say anything about that, you know to Saphira or Matt?" he asked quietly and trusting. He looked at me and for once there was no humor in his expression. I have never been trusted with anything. Not even family. I mean I had no idea about Matt's pot thing. Why no one said anything to me was a mystery, seeing as how I had no one to tell and even fewer who told me things. And I have trusted people only for them to leave or take advantage of me. It left a particular sucky, empty gut feeling.

"Yeah, no way," I agreed. I wouldn't tell anyone. Matt would never guess it; he couldn't even see what was wrong with his cousin, never mind his friend. Saphira, well, I don't know about her. She probably already knew, you could never tell since she kept it locked up like a vault, so danger in her. Either way the only people I could talk to about this were crossed off the list as soon as they were on it. Plus it wasn't in me to be the dicks, douche bags, and assholes that I swore I'd never become.

"Thanks," he said grateful.

*.*.*

One thing I completely and quickly agreed on when it came to these powers was that school became more of a task and constant annoyance more than ever. It's hard to listen to a teacher drown on and on about algebra, English and history, which was a mind numbing process to begin with, become even more agonizing and menial when once you were home your entire room could float and fly around.

So yeah school life sucked more than ever. I would ditch but that would make the school call Richard and then I wouldn't have to worry about either because of the darkest obvious reason.

I think the only good reasons for going is because despite my best effort I want to see how my friendship, with my possible best and only guy friend, Steve will go. And yes I want to see Saphira. I'm a guy; I have the same problem everyone else has. It's not even that I find her attractive, it's a bonus for sure, but beside that she has this weird way of talking and just being there that makes me forget my problems in order to figure how the heck she gets where she is with some of it.

Like right now. She's skipping up behind Matt and Steve wearing Tweety Bird pajama bottoms, a white T, and electric blue flip flops. I'm seeing this, I know the camera is getting this but my mind is wondering why and how. Because this is high school where if you wear knock-offs you get hazed for a month. She coming in with yellow birdie pants and no one is seeing this. It's creepy and amazing at the same time. Extra creepy that this get up does the same thing that motor girl outfit did. I need help.

"Glad to see you here Matt, means I can forgo the gas mask in English." She smirked, her tone as chipper as the bird on her pants.

"That exactly why I came-," Matt's sarcastic reply trailed off once he saw her. She just grinned at our bemused faces.

"I know I'll regret asking but what's with the pants?" Matt asked.

"Latest from Milan, I overslept and didn't have the time, the power went out and I dressed in the dark. Pick whatever cookie cutter answer works for you," she said blasé.

"What's the real reason?' I asked.

"I didn't want to change," she answered simply, shrugging.

"I have a question. How is it no one is staring at you?" Steve asked bringing up my own question.

She just shrugged again. "No idea. They just don't, and I don't care if they do."

We agreed to meet for lunch, Matt said he wanted to pitch us an idea he had for us. I had no idea what it was but I was already dreading it. His last idea was the party and that almost got someone killed.

*.*.*

Like I said earlier, school had gotten a thousand times more dull and boring. So I wasn't surprised my mind wondered rather than listened to the teacher. I thought of how we were coming along with our powers and where we could take it, but unfortunately my imagination had taken a major hit these past few years, felt longer, but I lacked a certain creativity to go to the so call 'happy place'. My head as of last Friday could be divided into three parts. The part that thought of my powers, the part for my mom and the thing I tried to stop thinking of but had no success; Saphira.

I was being to understand how Saphira did her disappearing trick. People were to my knowledge and experience stupid on two parts. One; people, being the insecure assholes they sometimes are, look for things wrong or weird with others to make themselves feel better about their own problems, which is a problem in and of itself actually. And two; they had an avid denial of anything that did not fit in their head when it came to rules and life.

Anyway, the general mindset with everyone's way of thinking is the strange and not possible things in life, like those movements in the corner of your eye or hazes of heat pockets, have become so consistent, so always present that they no longer resister in our heads, unless you were looking for them. Plus it help that new tech drained all our awareness. Saphira was by far the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life, and she played in those pockets of consistent shadow at the corner of everyone eyes, like that day the hallway and again with Sean. I saw her but thought nothing of it till she was smack in my face. The only reason we saw her again was because we were looking for her. If you weren't, you'd never see her, the girl in the corner, and since no one did she was free do whatever she wanted. Or maybe I've spent too much time with Matt and his philosophical car rides are finally screwing with me. Great

Either way I still knew exactly where she'd be at lunch, where everyone goes but would never notice her; the bleachers. Sure enough there she was, yellow pants, kicked back in a reclining position, plugged in and paying the same amount of attention to the world that it showed her.

Walking up, her head swayed to the music that was at a reasonable volume. "Broadway?" I asked.

"Nuh, scores today's," she replied, unplugging.

"Hello home wreckers!" Steve shouted as he came up, Matt in tow. Saphira rolled her eyes.

"Alright guys," Matt began, sounding so excited he couldn't stand himself. Again I saw the danger Will Robinson sign. "I've been thinking-"

"Oh boy," Saphira sighed, but was ignored.

"I've been thinking that maybe we should go back to the cave, you know to see if there's anything left that could help us understand what's up with us," he explained.

Now I'm sure that pot had gone to his head. Jesus Christ, did he forget what happened there? We almost died for God's sake.

"Okay Matt I'm saying this because I care about you…but seriously what flavor of stupid _are_ you?" Saphira demanded.

"Flavor of stupid?" Steve chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm partial to the moronic berry blast but I always go for an imbecicle," she shrugged. Steve cracked up. I grinned, that was pretty clever.

"Matt, honestly, why would you possibly want to go back there? In case you forget we almost didn't come back," she said.

"That was last time. What could go wr-"

His beyond stupid question was interrupted by Saphira making a loud weird sound that sounded like 'Nugh'.

"Don't you dare finish that stupid ass question." She growled, for the first time dead serious. "Nothing good ever follows that question."

"Oh come on, that kind of crap only happens in movies," Matt scoffed.

"We have a camera, it's a movie," she stated. "Matt, we got power punch drunk by a glowing rock in a cave that _howled_, and tried to kill us. And you're brilliant idea is to go back. Any number of things could happen. We could unleash a new kind of plague, we could wake up a vampire, start that zombie apocalypse everyone's so fond of yet dreading," she fritted. I really doubt anything like that would happen, but I also thought super powers were for the comics and look how that turned out.

"Vampires aren't real," Steve stated. Saphira shot him an incredulous look.

"Really? After everything that's happened, you're gonna pick and choose which myth is real or not?" she asked, and then turned to Matt. "It's a bad idea. While you guys were fine last time, I was the one that almost didn't make it."

"I understand, and that's fine. But we're going," Matt said.

Wait what? When was this decided? I never agreed to go. I was in no mood to ever go anywhere near there again. That rock or whatever it was, the way it affected me was terrifying. Didn't matter if it was calm when we woke up it had had a week to recover. Saphira opened her mouth to protest when a whistle sounded from below.

"Pretty bird, over here," Casey called.

"Casey," Saphira greeted warmly, while Matt gave her a look of betrayal.

"You good for tonight?"

"Yeah, totally. The movie was awesome. Just a quick question, when I talk about how it's easy to forget Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Potter do I cuss or make them break out the dictionary?" she asked.

"Both," Casey answered grinning slyly. "How you doing? I missed you Friday and Monday."

"Yeah sorry about that, had new friends to break in," she explained gesturing to us.

"Hey Andrew, nice new camera," Casey called up.

"T-thank you," I stuttered.

"Hey C," Steve shouted.

"Mr. President."

"Hey Casey," Matt greeted reserved. She didn't even look at him, just turned back to Saphira for a quick good bye and left. Ouch, that hurt from up here. I'll admit that was a little cold but it was nice to see Mat get his lazy ass in gear for someone. Maybe get him off his high horse.

"Thought you said you weren't going to talk to her," Matt demanded.

"Said I wouldn't talk to her about becoming your girl toy. I will talk to her as I am her number one reviewer on her blog," she explained.

"Man, she burned you," Steve said sympathetically but lost its feel with the grin on his face.

"I don't know why she's like that with me. I didn't do anything," Matt protested.

"Really that's you're story. You have no clue why she might not like you?' Saphira asked disbelief.

"Oh and I suppose you know," Matt said a bit of bite in his voice.

"Seeing as I was right behind you at your shining moment of screwing up, yeah. Let me break it down for ya. You called her film lame."

"No, I called the party lame," Matt stated, satisfied she got it wrong.

"Mm-hm, what was she filming?" Saphira asked.

"…the party," he answered hesitantly realizing his mistake.

"Yeah, calling the party that she was filming lame means the film is lame by association. Not to mention you quoted philosophy straight out the gate. That's something you mention on the first date but wait until the sixth to state quoting. When someone shows you their hobbies before anything else it's like the biggest turn off ever. There's a process to this and if you both aren't on the same page you can't skip steps."

"Okay, so how do I fix it?" he asked.

"Well considering you have established yourself as an arrogant douche. I'd go with being honest about your liking her and doing something humiliating. Nothing is better to a girl then hearing from a guy he screwed up and takes the ego down a notch or four."

Made sense. Roses fade, chocolates are eaten, but women will remember a man's embarrassment for life. Saphira shivered with the cold and before I even knew what I was doing I was handing her my jacket. And I did regret it, not with the smile she gave me when she took it.

"White knight and a gentleman, you're defiantly a keeper," she said, putting my jacket on pushing the sleeves up. I had to fight the urge to blush. She paused like she was thinking about something, and then sighed when she came to a decision.

"Matt, for the record, the only reason I went down in the hole in the first place was because if I had left and you all did something stupid it'd eat at my conscious. And that's the only reason why I'm going back there again, because now you're my friends and plus if you get me killed for real this time I will so haunt your ass," she threatened, calmly. "Agreed?"

"Agreed," Matt said.

"Alright. Now if you'll excuse me I need to go buy a bat and banjo," she stated, getting up to leave.

"What the hell you need those for?" Steve asked seriously confused as were we all.

"Because if we do raise a zombie uprising, then I'm going at those poor fat bastards Tallahassee style," she stated with a Southern accent, psyched and maybe a little crazed.

"There's something wrong with that girl," Matt said. Now that's not fair. You don't know anything about her. Not to mention you wanted to go back to the place that almost was her grave. Unfeeling, judgmental jerk off. If people didn't do things the way he liked he wrote them off, and got impossible to be around. Saphira had her own way of doing things that were just a little odd I'll admit but was no less interesting to see come about. There was never a dull moment.

*.*.*

We agreed to meet at Matt's house Saturday morning. To be fair no one wanted to go but we all went because it'd shut Matt up. Saphira showed up, lacking both a bat and banjo, but instead sporting camouflage cargo pants, and very pissed off scowl on her face.

"Are you going to make this as bad for all of us, just because you hate it?" Matt asked.

"Oh I wouldn't be that obvious. I promise to be subtle," she assured. Now I know she was going to do that quiet revenge thing again. And Matt's going to be stuck in a car with her, while she's doing it.

*.*.*

Whatever she's planning I hope she does it soon because this car ride is seriously annoying me to death. Steve and Matt would not shut up about their girlfriends, and then Matt turned on the radio to some dull as hell news and political station.

If I hadn't been glaring at the radio with distain I wouldn't have noticed it. But suddenly the station dial moved on its own and turned to a pop station and the volume dial jerked up to high and blared through the speaker, scaring the hell out of Matt, making him stomp on the break.

"What the hell?" he shouted.

"Sorry that was me," Saphira admitted from the back. And so it begins, finally.

"If you're not going to change the station turn it down, or I'm going to get pulled over," Matt said.

"If a cop does, just fake a mental illness like multiple personality or schizophrenia. Makes them so scared they just let you go. Although since you have actual people in the car you might not pull it off as good," she soothed, a little too confident in her statement.

"And how do you know that?" Steve asked, inching away.

"It's how I got out a speeding ticket when I was sixteen. I'm driving along having a good time; I wasn't looking at the speedometer, till I hear the Whoo. I know I deserved the ticket, but there's a part of my head that says might as well get my money's worth so I went with for it. So cop comes up asks the same stupid question, you know why I pulled you over? I said I knew I was speeding but Joy was getting paranoid because we were going to be late to a party, which got Nina and Luke fighting over if she was being stupid. I swear he looked in my car for other people. At this point I shouted out, No we didn't! Yeah we did! Shut up! NOT NOW!" she broke off laughing. I could picture this scenario so clearly in my head and the freaked out cop, too good.

"This poor cop was so freaked out he just said you all have a nice day and left. Never asked for my license, my registration, nothing. Just got as far and fast away from me as possible. I almost died laughing it was so awesome," she laughed. "Hey, I have an idea as for how you can get Casey to like you. Just let her see you singing Price tag," she laughed. Matt went from shocked to fucking furious, glaring at me, while Steve cracked up.

"How could you possibly know about that?" I asked. All that other stuff wasn't too freaky if you thought about it but how did she know about something that only happened in this car?

"You remember that person with the book on the bleachers who wasn't paying you any attention at all? Well turns out she was," she grinned. "Come on Matt, chill. You know for a guy that smokes pot you're surprising uptight. Now shush my favorite parts coming up." She turned it up a notch and started singing, way better then Matt.

"I only pray that never leave me behind, never leave me. Because good music can be so hard to find, so hard to find. I take your hand and hold it closer to mine. Thought love was dead but now you're changing my mi-ind." At this she kicked Matt's seat and started belting out at the top of her lungs but still in tune. "My hearts a stereo it beats for you so listen close here my thoughts and every note. Just sing alone to my stereo oh oh."

"Alright party's over," Matt said turning it off.

"Thought you guys were of the giggle verity," she pouted, which managed to look sexy and cute at the same time.

"You said it yourself this could be dangerous," Matt hissed

"Yeah, and you're the one that basically said fuck it and hulled us up here. If I didn't distract myself like this I'd flip out on you," she warned. "We've all got our calmers, you with pot, Andrew with his camera. I make a nuisance on myself and watch people get mad."

"So what, you think it's like radiation?" I asked. Trying to distract Matt because he look ready to hit something which was surprising seeing as he talked out of his ass a majority of the time but never looked that he'd do anything about it.

"Radiation from what?" Steve asked. Clearly he had missed the whole conversion and tuned in too late.

"Dude, it's the government," Matt said, completely sure of it.

"Matt, what are you talking about?" Steve asked thinking he was nuts.

"Hey Matt, I have a question. What do you think will happen for real when we get there? Even if we could get to it again, there is no way we are going to understand any more about this unless we were with like SHIELD or something," Saphira said.

"I don't know, maybe just being near it will give us some insight or something," Matt said.

"I worried being near it is going to give us another shot of power. Seconds are never good in these types of things. But it would be cool to do more, because this isn't what I would have picked to be my power." Saphira mused. "I always pictured myself water bending, flying, or oh silkspeech."

"What's that the power to charm your clothes?" Steve laughed. Please, let's save the dope questions for the pothead thank you.

"Not even close, it's the ability to make suggestions in others mind," she explained.

"Mind control," Matt summed up.

"Two different animals. With mind control is like a bull in the china shop, causes all kinds of damage to your head. Silkspeech is merely convincing another to do what you want, without saying it. It's a lot gentler then the other. Like charming the other to go the way you want. You have to be careful not to push too hard or they might flip out on you. Like if I called Steve a jock; he'd laugh and agree." He did. "But if I said the same to Andrew he'd get offended." I would. "You can't go against instinct."

"Learn which buttons to push," I said. She nodded.

"I would have gone for invisibility," Steve grinned perverted. No need to guess why. I choose this time to look out the window and realized how close we were to the rock. And the mere thought of being in seeing distance of it made me blood freeze in my veins in horror.

"I'm feeling pretty spelunked out exactly," I said.

"Andrew, relax," Matt sighed exasperated.

I heard somewhere paranoia was a just a higher form of self-preservation. Or something like that. Either way I was going to book it at the first sign of anything.

Once we were there, there was no prolonging the inevitable so we got out. "It's so weird. Looks completely different during the day," Matt mused

"Yeah it's calmer. And this time I don't have cause vehicular damage," Saphira smirked.

"What?"

"Some dick at the party was pushing around some of the small party-goers, and I don't tolerate that at all. So I asked around and found out which car was his and my lawyer told me to plead the fifth for the rest," she smiled a smile that looked downright evil.

Jeez a vandalism and fraud in the same week. Really don't want to piss her off. And since when did crime become a turn on for me. I don't know if I had always had it or were they only here for her.

"Whoa wait a minute, that lie you gave me to pitch to my mom wasn't a lie?" Matt asked incredulous.

"That's why I knew it'd work because it actually happened. And I am surprised no one caught how fast that lie come out," she shrugged.

"Again how does no one notice you?" Steve asked.

"Like the cop they all avoid the girl having a heated agreement with someone who isn't there."

"Oookay, you are crazy," Steve stated.

"Flattery will get you nowhere," she teased.

*.*.*

After that Matt was getting frustrated with her again so he called us to action and set off. I don't understand way he doesn't like her. Steve thinks she's weird but he is himself and he gets a good laugh out of her now and then. And of course I like her because I'm nursing a crush on her and she makes me forget my shitty life. But Matt isn't benefiting from having Saphira around. Maybe he's just been use to having everything go his way up until now and now she busts in and knocks it all down without even trying. It's like our lives reversed. Sweet.

A little while later two things became apparent, one; we were lost, and two; Saphira was still on her slow but steady campaign to annoy Matt to death. She went on about nothing and everything. She talked about why you don't want to annoy a Southerner, why cauliflower is white, listed all of Kirby's transformations in all his games, sang all the Pokémon opening songs, recited Hamlet's monologue, and what was the best thing to use when sliding down a staircase. It was the greatest thing I had ever seen in my life.

Matt was visibly trying out to flip out, Steve was intrigued and confused by thing things she chose to talk about, and I was hurting so bad from trying not to laugh too hard.

Suddenly, the sound of a dozen cats meowing broke through her campaign.

"Jesse, hi. How's the Manhattan Project? Aww that is so cute. Well of course they are attracted to your hair. Shoot I love that curly mess too, it defies all reason and rocks which is so you. Me? Hiking with some new friends. Yeah, I'd be enjoying it more if we weren't lost or going somewhere _completely stupid_," she said directing it at Matt. I would have laughed if the first part of the conversion wasn't sticking in my head. The playful happy tone in her voice when she talked to the other person. Was it her boyfriend? She never mentioned one but then she didn't explain a lot. And for all the personality she had, flirt wasn't one of them.

"Because if I left they'd probably hurt themselves and you know as well as I do that I have too many screws loose to get more. However I am not going quietly. Well ones enjoying this way too much, the other is bemused, and the other, who is my target, is thinking; is it worth it to kill me."

"Now I'd like that but you know my dad's rule about coming up there once a month and we did that because of Andrew's super celebration and it's my senior year even though I'm Zuckerberging the whole thing," she laughed. Now I really didn't like whoever was on the phone. Her dad let her go see him once a month and hearing my name when it wasn't me just got me angrier.

"Oh man A-man is there. Okay I'll sneak up there _if_ you two came with me to ding-dong ditch my uncles condo and you two do the Cotton Eyed Joe song with me this time. Hey, you copped out the last time, and you were drunk, you have the legal obligation to do stupid shit. No what was stupid was that the Brit and the Seattle home girl were more baller then the born and bred New Yorkers and we weren't even drunk. Come on it's just for laughs. Alright Party with Eisenberg. Gonna be epic. Cuddle Nikki for me. Okay see ya." She hung then looked up at your shocked faces.

"What?"

"Jesse Eisenberg? You know Jesse Eisenberg? And he calls you up?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, when he was filming Zombieland my dad, who is good friends with Woody Harrelson, had to come down to clear up a marijuana problem. We hit it off so much he invited me to 30 Minutes or Less, and Social Network," she explained. No guy is that good friends with a girl like Saphira to do that for nothing.

"So is he like your boyfriend?" I asked, happy my voice didn't sound hostile.

"No. No, just friends. He's of the laid back verity and I like adventure. I have to get him drunk to do anything fun and even then it's a task." I let out a mental sigh of relief. I still had whatever imaginary shot I had with her. I'd take what I can and not apologize for it.

"I can't believe your friends with a famous person," Steve said impressed.

"Not that surprising if you think about it even actors need lawyers. My uncle has Michael Jordon on speed dial," she said nonchalant but that about killed Steve.

"Get out of here!" he shouted.

"Obviously means more to you than me. I'm not a sports person but it impresses the hell out of other people."

"Who the hell are you?" Matt asked.

"You called it Matty. I'm Wonder Woman," she smirked. "By the way the hole it that way," she said pointing to the left.

"You knew the way this whole time and didn't say anything," Matt asked madder than I've ever seen him.

"You never asked. Besides I thought we were having a good hike and bonding but no one jumped in the conversions I pitched," she said innocently. The hell with it I burst out laughing.

"Those conversions were about nothing," Matt protested. "How can you possibly have a conversion about nothing? Nothing's nothing," she stated. With that Steve joined the laugh yourself into a coma club with me.

*.*.*

Faintly I was beginning to notice the pulse of the rock. It wasn't as bad as before but it was still enough to make me remember the night that that thing howled at us.

"Look I don't care I'm not going in the hole again," I protested. Matt just shot me a glance that said he was too tried to deal with me. And Steve abruptly turned and shouted "Boo!" which made me jump back. "I'll push him in if you make the camera malfunction," Saphira offered. Tempting.

The pulse had become a thrum as it came into view. It wasn't as menacing as before but I still didn't trust it.

"So weird, it's like sunk in or something," Matt mused.

"There goes your old camera, dude," Steve chuckled.

"Oh shit," I said just because. Honestly I didn't really care about it. The only thing on that was on it were my two ass kicking's, from Richard and that guy, my breakdown, and that rock and I never wanted to see those ever again.

It began to vibrate in the back of my head when we were a few feet from it. Saphira became glued to my side which I would have enjoyed a lot more if I were anywhere but were I was.

Matt crouched down and shifted some of the rocks around.

"Can't believe I made it out of there," I mumbled. There was one moment at the mouth of the cave when I howled, where I thought it would be the universes cruelest, most ironic death to be so close to freedom but never get it and instead be trapped forever. That death would just speak volumes of my life like I refused to do.

"Well I mean that answers that right?" Steve said.

"Um what does? We still don't know anything," I said confused. He's not stupid just does some stupid things. But even he can see that this whole trip was pointless. Then he gave me a 'Come on, work with me' look. Oh, he knew he just wanted Matt to stop.

"We're still alive. I mean I was thinking-" I never knew what he was thinking because at that time a state trooper shouted down at us. "Hey you kids can't be here okay? You got to move out."

What the hell were the cops doing here? I just kept my head down no need to get arrested.

"What?" Matt called back. Shut up and let's go I am not getting in trouble over this stupid thing.

"Grounds unstable. We're taping the whole place off," he informed us. Great, good to know. Let's go, now.

"Okay we're going," Matt called back.

"Vote for Steve," Steve shouted. It was so ridiculously stupid we all cracked up. "Shut up," Saphira hissed playful.

Few steps later Matt looked back and said, "Don't you think it's a little weird that they're taping off that area?" Matt asked, suspicious. Oh God give it a rest. We came back, got within touching distance of the cave and thankfully nothing happened. Yeah we still don't know why or what happened but who cares we were fine before and if something were going to happen it would have already, right? Right. Even in my own head I sound panicky but everyone with a functioning head would be. I don't know what that says about the idiocy that is my cousin but it's stupid. And whatever thing he tried to get me to do next I wasn't going to go he can get himself killed and leave me out of it. I'd rather live guilty then die stupid.

"Come on Matt, with the thing that shot us out I'm not surprised it showed up of some kind or radar," Steve shrugged. Matt shut up after that but my cousin is nothing if not stubborn to the point of insanity.

"So got anything plans for tomorrow?" Saphira asked.

"Um I'm taking my mom out to the peer. I haven't seen much of her this week, and she likes the water," I answered.

"Sounds nice," she smiled.

Stupid has to be hereditary because there was no other way to explain what came out of my mouth next.

"Do you want to come us? My mom wants some girl time with somebody since she's only got me and my dad."

Why did I say that, and why did I phrase it like that?

"Yeah sure. I'll come. I'd like to meet the woman who raises a gentleman in these dark days," she teased. I was not blushing. In no way was I blushing.

"Cool. Cool 12 o'clock good?' I asked.

"Yep, it's a date," she replied.

Date? Slow down there Detmer. That doesn't mean what you think/ hope it means. It's just a bad choice of words. plus my mom is going to be there, nothing it going to happen even if it were what it isn't. okay stop thinking about it, think about something else.

"You and Steve seem to be getting along better," Saphira commented.

"Yeah he surprised me. I mean he's deeper than usual jocks. He's life isn't as trophy-like as everyone thinks," I said. I dint tell her how it wasn't, but she knew it like I thought she would.

"Sad fact of life is; everyone's got pain, some people just hide it better than others," she said, her voice hollow and her eyes haunted looked that I know so well from having seen them looking at me for my mirror.

"Even you?" I asked.

"More than anyone knows," she replied. I knew how it felt but I didn't want to push so I let it drop.

*.*.*

That night I was back in my room testing my powers. I had become a hermit by necessity for so long it was natural, but it was more now since this. Matt and Steve were working with the 'sometimes you have to run before you walk' quote which might make them lift more than me but it was always with jerky motions, which ended with them breaking something or a noise bleed. But I used low weights high rep and focused on making everything one smooth movement, like I wasn't myself. I wasn't clumsy just protectively jumpy.

No one played a rock concert when they first get a guitar, you do the scales first. It worked for everyone else, why not? And the best way to monitor that was by moving the camera itself. So I held it up in from t of the mirror, like normal then I let go and stepped away, while picturing that my mirror self was still holding it. Instead of falling to the ground it stayed perfectly still. It was the coolest thing defying gravity.

Even cooler was that no one knew the depth of what was going on in my room. People flip out for this and no one knew it was happening in teenager's room. It was like the door cut the world off from me. Unfortunately it didn't cut me out of the world. Downstairs Richard was pleading and yelling at mom's doctor to help her, stronger medicine, and that he didn't know what to do anymore.

I hated that I could fully enjoy life when I felt selfish and guilty about going off and having fun when my mom was home dying. But what could I do?

*.*.*

The next day Richard was gone, drinking last night's phone call away. Mom had had a tough morning. It torn me apart to see her like this but I can't leave her. I was almost about to call Saphira and cancel our date, it's not a date. But right when I was about to, mom pulled a 180, and was looking good again. I wanted to play it safe to not aggravate her health, but mom wanted to get out of the house. Can't say I blame her being cooped up is a horrible feeling. Then I told who else was coming and well there was no stopping her after that.

*.*.*

It was a great day to be out. Mom was interested in taking over as 'director' and was filming.

"So where's your mystery girl?" she teased. It was then I realized I had just giving her a time and vague place, and we were early.

"Um..." I stalled trying out to panic, when I saw her.

Leaning on the rail, eyes to the horizon. I'd know that free look anywhere, no matter much the clothes changed. This time it was a teal shirt, jean jacket, white skirt, turquoise studded belt and sandals, with her hair in a long braid.

"Over there," I direct.

"Oh Andrew, she's a beauty," she gushed. I was reluctant to pull her out of world but I didn't want to try and explain it to my mom.

Saphira blinked, looked over and smiled. "Hey," she greeted.

"Hey," I greeted back then nothing we just stared at each other. Until a small 'ahem' broke through.

"Oh sorry. This is my mom. Mom, this is Saphira."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Detmer," she greeted.

"Call me Karen, dear," mom corrected.

"Okay, Karen dear," Saphira said, making mom laugh.

"Andrew has told me a lot about you."

And here is every guy's worst nightmare. Having your mother and possible girlfriend talk about you. "Hope it's nothing bad," Saphira grinned.

"Worst was he thought you were a guy," mom answered.

"Well it's not like I'm a princess but a guy crosses all kinds of lines."

"Understood. So how was he after that?"

"Very much the gentleman. I guess I have you to thank for that," Saphira said sincerely.

"Not really," mom humbly denied. "So what are your plans after high school?"

"Detective, P.I, something like that. I have an eye for detail…Speaking of. Excuse me."

She went to the table behind us and went to catch the person who left their jacket behind. "

She's really nice Andrew," mom praised.

"Yeah," I muttered. That didn't change the fact that I had nothing to offer to the kickass, smart, gorgeous girl that hung out with super stars.

"What's wrong Andrew," she asked concerned. Life kicked all sense of game and confidence out of me so I didn't have any when it mattered.

"Nice doesn't get girls like that," I answered instead.

"Could have fooled me. I saw that hey. you two were in your own world or something. Honey, you're already friends with her and she obviously likes you and she strikes me as old fashion so she probably waiting for you to ask her. I just don't want you to strike yourself out before you get to home plate. I want to remember you like this; happy," she beseeched.

"Mom," I murmured, because if I talked louder my voice crack. "Whatever is holding you back you can overcome. You're stranger then this can you say that for me?" she asked.

Say it yes, but I don't think I can believe it. "I'm stronger than this."

"Then what?" Saphira asked coming back.

"Age long argument," mom waved off. "He thinks life isn't going to do him any favors. So he's giving up the ghost.

"Mom," I gasped in disbelief. That was out of line.

"Your mom is right. You are for two reasons. One; it's what your name means. And two; you got this look or something lie a glow under the surface and given the right setting it's going to come out and knock us all out," Saphira explained.

"See not just me. I think I'd like to go the rail. Be a dear?' she asked.

"Your mom really sweet," Saphira said kindly. "Yeah she is," I agreed. "And thanks for telling all that for her."

"It wasn't for her Andrew. It's true. I told I have an eye for detail," she grinned. Throwing me of a loop.

"Well," I answered awkward. "Thanks again."

"For what it's worth it, life comes together in the least likely way you think it can," she said, a glimmer of haunted look.

"Is that what happened to you," I asked.

"Oh yeah and one day I'll tell you how but not now."

I nodded. For some reason I trusted and believed her. And it wasn't because of what she said or what mom said. I did because she made the last few years feel like they never existed. Like I leap frog over them and became an average brooding teenager with the dream of being married to a model. And to an outsiders point of view I'd like to think we'd make a nice couple. Saphira was a no-nonsense beat around the bush girl if she wasn't interested she'd say so. Right?

*.*.*

Next chapter things begin to break up, and maybe come together.


	5. dance in the rain

I am so, so sorry for the wait as I always am, but college started and I was working through some headaches. Can't have that affecting my work, because this one is seriously spiced up. I won't tell you any more than that, you will just have to read and find out. I am also trying to get a hold of my new editor so I may replace this with less grammatical errors. But I decided to put her out there and see what you all think.

*.*.*

I began battling over whether or not I should ask Saphira on a date after our not date. I had plenty of time to mull it over since she went off to New York as she said. I didn't think about what I'd do if she said no, I already knew and didn't want to depress myself any more then I already was. Instead, I thought about what I'd do if she said yes. And honestly that scared me more than the no.

Because if she said no right out, then I could write it off as she didn't really know me or doesn't like me that way. But if we did go out and she called it off that meant I screwed up. And my hope wasn't improving as I went down the list of possible date places, either.

Movies; too expanse. Park; too plain, she rode a motorcycle for Pete's sake. Bowling; I suck. Zoo; it smells. Coffee; I don't know if she likes it. Mini golf; annoys me. Dinner/lunch; too simple, plus there was no distractions if I wasn't doing so hot. This is where my low opinion of myself and my self-consciousness really comes to bite me in the ass.

To me; I'm secretive, moody, quiet, and weak. Saphira is anything but. She has command of the room, when she wanted to, happy, and even though her secrets have secrets she wasn't closed off. She definitely had no problem telling everyone exactly what she thought and didn't think twice about it. I wanted this date, if there was one, to be perfect, so she'd like me like I wanted.

The only problem was I'm not a likeable person, at least not to myself. To me I'm tolerable at best. I'm not outgoing or spontaneous, in fact I'm dragged most places. Sure I'm getting a personality now that I'm not getting beat down as much as I use to. But still, it's not the most charming of personas for possible girlfriends. So I wanted some feedback from someone and see where I needed improvement. Mom wouldn't be much help; I'm her little boy and can do no wrong. Steve doesn't know me that well. So that left Matt. He's an asshole but at least he's honest.

"Oh, nice," Matt commented as I sent a stone skipping across the lake. God knows why we're here, I didn't pay any attention to what he was saying when he was driving over here. I was too busying wondering how to ask him. Finally, I just went for it.

"Alright here, watch this," he said sending one out, it didn't make it far. "Weak."

"Hey Matt? Do you like me?" I asked.

He looked at me confused, stumped. "Wha- wh… Yeah, of course. I mean… You know, I didn't always-" he babbled.

"What do you mean?"

"You just haven't always been super easy to talk to," he answered hesitant.

Super easy? Was I that hard to be around that it wasn't just easy, but super easy? Was it so hard to spend time with your cousin, and even if it was why are you trying? Or at least trying with things I actually like. Maybe then it'd be easy for you. When would it have been just easy for you Matt, if I were mindlessly following your every word, never questioning you? The only time I did was when you dragged me to shit you knew I hated. To me you're not super easy to be around.

"Not that you haven't been now, it's just-"

"You're such an asshole," I interrupted.

He grinned and scoffed. "That what I'm talking about man, you're hostile."

Hostile? That was the worst thing he could tell me. Hostile was not good for anyone, especially for someone who wants a relationship. Hostile was what I felt when I was around Richard. I was not him. I was never going to be him. I never hurt anyone and even when he said he worked all the time for my mom, he still spent money on beer. Then yelled at me for doing nothing, if I could, I would then I realized that was my theme for my life; if.

If I did this, if I did that. Or me just assuming I couldn't instead of never seeing if I in fact could. Mom was right, I quit before I even tried and that made me worse than Richard. Well no more, I'd change; starting with Fae. The only problem, I'm still hung up on making it perfect. And I have no creativity romance wise. This girl was special she deserves it in return and all I could do was... I had powers that'd liven it up. Steve would know but I feel uncomfortable asking but maybe if I get them together I could filter it out. Saphira was a bad influence, I'm getting devious. "Hey Matt, you ever think about doing more with it?"

"What this?" he asked, stupidly. No color organization. "Not really, why what else is there?

Maybe just Steve would do and when Saphira gets back we'll see.

*.*.*

Saphira was gone Monday through Wednesday, going to New York to hang with her celeb friends. This doubly sucked because I was still leaning toward the idea of asking her out. Figured, I'd go with the Brand Aid motion and save myself the agony. I know that's not the best way to look at starting a relationship but I'm running out of ideas and am driving myself crazy.

And second Matt had lost his mind completely, because he was with me all the fucking time. Hounding me with practice, practice, and also more practice, with all the new ideas he had for us to test out. Now I love working on my powers, it's amazing but his way was boring, unoriginal, and it was more of a challenge not to lob the things right at him.

Steve helped distract me but not as well as Saphira would have if she were here. And that's probably why Matt was doing all this. I don't think he hates her per se, I just think that if we didn't have these powers Matt would never be anywhere near her again. Her type of personality and mannerisms just annoyed and clash with him, leaving him frustrated all the time. I did get a greeting pic on Tuesday. It showed her, Jesse, and Aziz Ansari with four cats sprawled out around a coffee table littered with beer bottles both cheap and pricey with the caption 'Greetings from drunken ass celebrity corner.' Glad she was having fun because I was an inch from exploding in front of Matt.

"Okay, steady, steady. Andrew it's moving to far too the left," Matt nitpicked. We were in his backyard again, moving the wood stumps into a tower. Normally this is no problem, easy, no brainer but it's hard to do something when there's this annoying droning noise right in your ear. "Okay let me take over, show ya how it's done," Matt said.

Again it took everything I had not to hit him. I shared a 'good grief' look with Steve who shrugged a 'what can you do' shrug. Why did I even bring this up? All I wanted was to work with them and maybe have some good ideas on how to wow Saphira. Now I kind of wished I asked her and was done with it. I don't even care about the answer anymore just to have it over with and get Matt to leave me the hell alone. Man I wish Saphira was here, she'd liven this up for sure.

As if the universe were listening to my prayers a loud voice shot through the quiet and Matt's concentration.

"HEY MATTY! Matty, Matty, Matt!" Saphira's voice sounded before we saw her jump the fence. She looked very happy, if the smile that threatened to split her face in two was any clue. Her eyes were red rimed from tiredness, and she swayed a little where she stood so it was safe to say she was still a little under from New York.

"Have fun at New York party girl?" Steve chuckled.

"Shoosh yeah I did. We drank enough to water a third of Texas," she giggled.

"That seems reckless," Matt stated, testy. Pot calling the kettle black, o philosopher of mine.

"Hey, I was in mourning. My grandpa died five years ago Sunday. That's why I went to New York to see my uncle. He takes this time of the year harder than my dad because he wasn't there with us to say bye. Plus his job's ten times harder now that an old douche bag ex-founder is coming back for a non-publicly hostile takeover," she responded. There was a moment of sad silence because Matt now felt like a jerk for his snarky comment. Rightly so. "But at least he's got a nice, sweet associate to keep him in line and he is as stubborn as he is. And my New York ballers gave me plenty of beer, crazy company, and cats to cuddles with, so its wasn't too depressing," she smiled.

"Still shouldn't you sleep the weekend off?" Matt asked.

"Should but I shan't. Besides what's wrong with seeing my power fellas after I've been gone?" she smiled. "So what's the happs?"

"Same old, practice," Steve answered vaguely.

"Oh really," she asked, eying the stumps with interest. "Mind?" Then without waiting for an answer she flicked her wrist and all the stumps moved in one shift movement as fluid as water and formed a tower.

"Wow, coming off a three day drinking binge and I'm still b-awesome at this," she murmured, more to herself but it still got Matt hot under the collar. In fact it looked like he wanted to commit murder right there in his backyard. And Saphira was blissfully ignorant of whole thing, instead she playfully shoved him! Smooth talker or not, I don't see how she could talk Matt down now.

"Oh come on Matty, look on the bright side," she smiled. Pause.

"I just saved fifteen percent on my car insurance," she said straight-faced and completely serious. That broke through the tension. We ended up laughing so hard we cried. It was good to have her back.

*.*.*

The next day Matt, Saphira, and I ambush Steve first thing in the morning at school. Matt was all excited to tell him his theories and finally put a label on what we were. Meanwhile I was busying looking at Fae. I figure if I was gonna ask her out I could call her by her nickname, at least in my mind. She was wearing faded jeans, a black tank, and a long deep red knitted cardigan that fall down a little pasted her knees. Looked stunning as always, which kind of sucked. Because how am I supposed to get a word out when she comes around looking all hot and stuff.

"Telekinesis?" Steve read off the phone Matt passed him.

"Yes, do tell," Matt joked.

"The ability to move, lift, vibrate. That's my favorite," he chuckled, nudging Matt. "Spin, bend, break, or impact objects through the direct influence of mental power or other none physical means."

"Sound familiar?" I asked.

"Does sound familiar," Saphira agreed.

"Yes, indeed," I said.

"Very familiar," Steve whispered.

"Wanna see direct influence? Andrew," Matt called motioning to me, and whistled. Like I was his dog. It was too early to get mad and I wanted it to be a good day since Fae was back. Didn't want to look hostile. Plus I knew if he did something too demeaning she'd keep him in line.

Anyway I stood around and videoed Matt hijacking a leaf blower near three girls and turned it on which made one of their skirts fly up making all of them scream. Steve cracked up on cue. I laughed too but I'm a guy we find stupid things funny.

"She's wearing black today," he snickered.

"Hi," Matt waved at the girls. "That's direct influence."

"No, that was perverted and mean," Saphira hissed.

"Oh come on Saphira. It's was just harmless fun," Matt shrugged. I could see the revenge actually spark in her eyes.

"Fun, huh? Well I don't want to be a stick in the mud," she said. And with that Matt's pants fell to the ground. His face lit up red with embarrassment.

"Hey!" he shouted, scrambling to pick them up.

"What, it was harmless fun," she quoted. "Word of warning; don't ever go commando around me, it may be the last thing you do before dying of embarrassment. I've got class, you can yell at me later. Bye guys," she waved.

"God, she is annoying," Matt grumbled.

"I like her, she's got attitude; the good kind," Steve chuckled.

"Whatever. See you guys at lunch," he said then walked off.

*.*.*

We trailed behind Matt on our way to the gym, when he came to a halt at the sight of Saphira talking to Casey.

"Hey guys," Saphira greeted. "So I'll see you later. And thanks for letting me stay over last night."

"You guys spent the night together?' Steve asked, sounding way too into the idea.

"Whatever naked pillow fight scenario you've got running through your head. Kindly remove it or I'll send out a mass text so Kristi knows where you are," Saphira threatened sweetly. Steve paled at the mention of his girlfriend.

"Nice," Casey commented. "See ya."

"Okay," Matt began once we settled down with our potluck lunch, "while you've been off in New York, Andrew here has been getting us to expand our range on what we can do with our powers," Matt explained. The compliment made me blush as Saphira beamed at me.

It amazed me how a look could drain all the confidence out of me. I still had no idea what to do with her. But I figured since the universe dropped her into my life then it could also tell me when the moment was right.

"But there's a little hiccup with that because the heavier the thing we're trying to lift is, the more likely we are to have a nosebleed. But just a week in my room, I'm just that much stronger. Even last night I got my whole bed off the ground. No nosebleed."

"Yeah, I've been lifting weights too," Steve agreed.

"My theory though is that it's like a muscle, that it's elastic. If you stretch it too far too quick it'll tear. That's why we're getting stronger; ya know because we're working it out. Getting buff."

"Buff? How's this for a work out?" Steve chuckled, picking up the can of pringles. Chips came flowing out of the can straight into his mouth.

"Holy shit," Matt laughed. "Awesome." All that got was a burp. "Classy," Matt stated.

"You've never needed powers to hog of the pringles," Saphira chuckled. "But I get it. I've even had similar ideas like that. I've been watching and reading up of my paranormal, sci-fi stuff. X-men First Class was great for focus, and the Last Stand with the final Phoenix scene. Push and Matilda were like the ultimate brainstorm of ideas. But my goal is Jumper," she grinned, evil and mischief gleaming her eyes.

"That movie sucked," Steve grumped.

"Granted but the idea from it, as a whole, is phenomenal. I mean think about it; to be able to mentally push yourself from one place to another. It's revolutionary and kick ass awesome," she pushed, psyched.

"It's also impossible even with this," Matt said shooting down the idea. Wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if he were a little more open minded to not just his own thoughts.

"You do it your way, I'll do it mine and will meet each other at the end. Right, Andrew?" she smiled.

Yeah with this anything could be done, theoretically. You just needed imagination and the drive to go for it. She did in two minutes what Matt, Steve, and I couldn't do all weekend.

I wanted to branch out to see how far this could actually go but I haven't had the time to really start dreaming again. It was picking up but still not what I know it could be. But we were ahead of them because we pushed past the bonders of normal life since we both seemed to not have normal as a daily occurrence. That being thought it was time to really bring in the others.

"I think it's time to take this out of the backyard," I said clean out of the blue. Course Matt was as with it as the first time I brought this up.

"Where? It'd to be somewhere we won't get noticed," Matt mused.

"Oh brilliant," Saphira breathed while a radiant, evil smile spread across her face. "You guys ever wanted to do Toy Story."

She had some of the most inspired ideas ever.

*.*.*

On weekends after a long week at school of having your ear talked off by dull teachers, most teenagers would go to a movie or the mall to hang out with their friends. But not us. We come out to raid a toy store and make a menace out of ourselves without anyone knowing it was us.

"Right here this is perfect," Steve said.

"Really?" Matt questioned.

"This is it," he assured.

"Anyone else feeling decidedly villainous right now?" Saphira giggled. We spread out once we entered trying to look as innocent as possible.

"Hey Matt get this," I said, handing the camera over and walked down the next aisle.

"Matt," I called, and then pointed a light saber to my target. I used it like a controller, directing the cart away choking back laughter the whole time. The lady now realizing her stuff is no longer there began shouting at it to come back. Steve, acting like he was as innocent as everyone else present, walked by, discreetly flicking stuffed animals into the still moving cart. I was surprise the lady hadn't caught it yet. It wasn't moving that fast. But I was beginning to feel bad for her so I directed the cart to turn a corner so sharply an employee jumped back in fright, and then the cart crashed into something but it didn't matter we had had our fun.

"Great job with the saber," Matt congratulated me with a high five. "Thanks," I blushed still not use to the praise. Steve motioned us over to alcove of stuffed animals. His victim was a kid who was playing with a giraffe.

"Okay I got the top half," Steve instructed. "I got the legs," Matt said. With that a bear started flapping its arms and hovered over the kid. While Steve let out a growl. "I'm flying," he said in a high voice. "She's just staring at it," Matt cracked. Then the bear dropped down closer to the kid that's when she freaked and ran off screaming. "Whatcha looking at girl? Stay in school," Steve growled.

"Anyone seen Saphira?" I asked. "Nope," Matt answered immediately, not interested. Steve just shrugged.

I left them to whatever entertained them. I found her lurking behind a corner spying on this small family with a baby crying. The mom was already dealing with an older one, who took off, making the mom rush to the end of the aisle to catch him. Once her back was turned, Saphira made a beanie baby dragon, bunny, and puppy float over to the baby and made them move in a circler dance.

It worked the kid stopped and began making grab hands for the toys with happy baby coos. "Nice," I commented. She answered with a smile and let them fall on the kid who wasted no time on cuddling them. "The mom's not going to like that," I said. "Their tags are missing, 75% off," she said placing three tags in her pocket with a wink. "Let's go find the rest. Lord knows what their up to."

We found Matt at the front in the candy. He was wearing a pair of too small heart shaped sunglasses with the tag hanging right in his face, with one of those claw toys. "Hey Andrew, I got an idea I want you to shoot," he said.

"Okay, see that guy over there. I'm going to get the gum and pull it right out of his mouth," he explained. That didn't sound like a good idea. For one thing the guy would definitely be like 'what the fuck?!'. The cart and bear had worked because this is a toy store, the whole place was tricked out but this would be difficult for me. Matt, wasn't the most focused of us. But he wanted this so I agreed.

There was this soft whooshing sound that sent the guy's head back like an uppercut. He looked at the thing in his hand like it did it, and then his whole body crashed in to the shelf and went down. "Oh shit," Matt cried. We all starting laugh and cheesed it.

"Wait, wait, why are we running?" Steve asked between laughter. Matt tripped and fell into a self. Justice is swift here.

"We should probably leave now or we're going to get labeled as creepers," Saphira said. "How about lunch?" Steve suggested. "Saphira's buying since she's the one that wants to leave," Matt said. "Oh yeah make the lawyer's girl pay for a jock and potheads appetite, that's great," Saphira teased.

Again with the not dates. On the up side, I could see how well my main idea would work. The down side, Matt and Steve were coming with us. Other up side, she only really talked to me since she seemed to tolerant Steve's jockness, and Matt's stupidity.

*.*.*

"Okay, I've been exploring your movie idea. And I remember this one; The Incredibles, specifically Violets power; the ability to make force fields and I think I got it," I explained.

"Thinking outside the box. Like that. The stage is yours," Saphira smiled, waving me on.

"So you guys wanna see?"

"Yeah sure," they agreed. "Okay, Matt, give me your hand," I said at the same time grabbing a fork. "Whoa no. No way," he stated. "I like this plan already," Saphira chuckled. "Shut up," Matt snapped.

"Five," Steve began a countdown.

"I don't want to do it," Matt protested. "Four."

"You're creating a scene." "Three."

"Come on do it," I pressed. "Come on Matt. Don't be a bitch about it. Just do it," Steve said. Easy for him to say, but whatever got Matt's hand on the table.

"Put your hand on the table," Steve said. "Do it."

"Okay but give me a countdown," Matt surrendered. Score one for peer pressure. "Yeah, I will. I promise," I assured.

_**SLAM!**_

"Ah!" Matt cried wrenching his hand back. "Oh snap," Steve laughed as I held up the mangled fork. "Like I said," I laughed with pride. "You gotta pay for that now," Steve informed a delighted Saphira. "That was wicked," she complimented.

"Like I said," I told an amazed Matt as he presented his unharmed hand to the camera, and tapped him with the fork.

"See you have to pretend there's a barrier around your hand. And then when things are going to hit you, as long as you're ready they will not hurt you because of the barrier," I explained my new move. "That's so sick," Matt said.

"That's me right there, I need that," Steve murmured. "Hey, the camera is for documenting only. Not scoping out hot girls for Steve," Saphira scolded. "Steve, Steve you have to try this. Dude give me your hand," Matt said.

Steve paled a little at the idea. "Uh nun it's cool," he said. "I'll do it for you Matty," Saphira said holding up a knife looking like something out of a Hitchcock film. "On second thought don't want to overdo it," Matt said uneasy. "You're no fun," she pouted.

*.*.*

"When I was a kid, I actually- I actually thought about being a police officer," Matt admitted swirling his chocolate milk with his powers. "A cop? No shit," Steve chuckled in disbelief. "Uh- you do know you can't smoke weed when you're a cop, right Matt?" I asked. "Snap," Saphira muttered.

"Oh no. Really? Un I didn't know," he replied. His voice dropped to a dumbass drawl that implied I was the idiot. "Uh no. But I just really got into altruism-"

"What's that mean? What's altruism, Matt?" Steve asked. "It's like wanting to make things better for anyone," he shrugged.

Disbelief and shock hung over the table like a fog. Where the hell was this Matt? I could get to like him. All this Matt did was put me and the things I did down because he didn't see the merit of them, or they weren't his idea. He left me alone all the freaking time, never asked if I was okay. Just bumbled about life like the pothead he was.

"Really, this coming from the man who's always talking about how pointless life is?" Steve questioned. "Nu- Yeah I know, but this is what I've been thinking about lately. Like looking back, I just think the way I use to think about things is probably a lot better, you know?" he asked a far off look in his eyes. I missed those times too. Only difference was I didn't have the option of taking steps back or forward. I had been with this Matt so long that I doubted he'd go back to the one I missed. The constant give up on life draw-back really sealed the thought.

"So what you like want to start a charity or something? That's lame," I scoffed. "Why's that lame?" Steve asked. Now I felt cornered. Lame may have been the wrong word. But Matt helping people when he couldn't be bothered to care about his own cousin just didn't register in my mind. "Ummm-"

At that moment Matt sent his spoon full of drink right at my camera. "Ah! Douchebag," I growled. "Whoa, don't start something you can't finish Matty," Saphira warned the ketchup and mustard bottles flouted around Matt.

"Why do you call me that?" he asked, frustrated. "My way of balancing out your constant seriousness," she answered. "Maybe you should be more serious," he offered. "I don't do serious, it gives me a headache. And if a serious thing came up I just roll with it," she stated then started humming while swirling her cherry milkshake.

"Well that's good for you now, but how's that going to work for you in the future; college?" Matt asked, a victorious gleam in his eye. "I've been accepted to MIT, but I don't know if I'll go, at least for a year or two. I want real world knowledge not just book smarts. Schools always there, who knows how long certain people, places, and experiences will last while you can have them," she said passionately.

"Man, between you and Steve what's left for the rest of us?" I teased halfheartedly. "What do you mean me?" Steve asked confused. "Dude, you're good at everything. It's obvious," Matt said.

"I'm not good at everything. I just do my best at everything," he clarified. "Hear, hear," Saphira cheered.

"That's what it's about. I mean you talk about philosophy and shit all the time but has he really done?" Steve asked my camera with a victorious smile on his face. Finally someone else noticed Matt talked out of his ass 98% of the time. That was his power before all this; he talked you down to nothing. Then you only agreed to shut him the hell up. "Have you even applied to colleges yet?" Steve asked.

"No, but I'm getting to it," Matt answered. Saphira scoffed, yeah that sounded fake to me too. "Yeah well you should get to it. I'm just saying," Steve shrugged. "I am," Matt insisted. "You could use some of that," Steve said.

"You could use some shut the hell up." Matt quipped. "Defensive much, Matty?" Saphira asked. "No!" he snapped back too quickly. "Oh very defensive, makes one wonder why."

Maybe I was still a little dazed when I was around her or maybe it was a trick of the light but for a moment it looked like her eyes glowed. From my end being defensive means you really don't want to talk about something because it hurt. So maybe he did apply and didn't get in that would explain the fact he was skipping class a lot more. But maybe I was reading too much into this and it was just his being lazy.

"You just lack initiative," Steve said. "Oh yeah? You lack a dick," Matt retorted. That got Saphira and I rolling. "There's a jock joke I could make there but I rather not," she said. "Come on guys the staff looks ready to kick us out."

"No, they won't. We're buying their stuff," Matt said. "What's this 'we' shit? I'm the one footing the bill. Plus there's still half the day left and I want to make the most of it," she argued.

"Like what?" Steve asked.

"We can loiter in a mall parking lot and screw with people who come out," she suggested. "Crime and mischief, I'm in," Steve grinned.

*.*.*

"But you guys like share cups?" Matt asked. "No, we don't share cup," Steve replied, disgusted and offended. Saphira and I laughed. "Anyone know how we got into this conversion?" she asked. I had no idea and I was pretty sure even if I rewind I still wouldn't know.

"You see that car over there? The red one," Steve pointed to a car that just pulled in. "Okay, the gum was cool. Alright you tried. It was a failed attempt though. Watch this," he said looked determined and psyched at the camera.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked. "Watch. We clear?" he asked. "Yeah, go go go."

Suddenly there was this rumbling, grating sound, and then the car started to move on its own! "What?!" I cried unable to process how this was actually happening. "No way!" Matt shouted. "That's wicked awesome," Saphira yelled.

He moved that entire car across the lot! It was crazy. "What, what," Steve said pride and swagger in his voice and his acted like a pimp enjoying his moment. "How'd you do that?" Matt asked amazed. "Did anyone see that?"

"Steve Montgomery for president!" Steve growled psyched into the camera. Then broke out in a massive nosebleed.

"Ugh I'm having like a…face period or something," Steve groaned. "Must double suck for you," Matt said to Saphira. Immediately we all knew he was gonna get it, big time. A small twisted grin curled on her lips. "You know Steve, you've inspired me. I want to do something big too," she said. That was all the warning Matt got before she raised her hands. Matt went stiff and unwillingly began to dance like an idiot.

"Hey quiet it. I'm serious, knock it off!" Matt yelled in outrage, while Steve and I laughed hysterically. "Dance for me Matty. Dance for me," she drawled. She let him go shortly after that, but he still kept the pissed off look on his face. "Come on Matt you set yourself up for that," Steve teased. When that didn't work he stuck his bloody rag in his face. That lighted Matt up, just in time for me to see the woman from the car come back.

"You guys, you guys. Here she comes," I whispered excited. They all looked over then tried to choke back the snickers that threatened to erupt. The woman was looking around with a serious and confused look on her face.

"Don't look. Don't look," Matt warned. "She can't find it," I laughed. "She thinks it's stolen. She has no idea," Steve giggled. "Yes, it was the black guys this time." This got an even louder laugh out of all of us. "I could have sworn I left it right here," Steve mimicked in a high voice. "Where's my car?"

Steve gave a slight wave in her direction, when she zeroed in on us as her possible culprits. Which was true and we were four teenagers with a camera standing right where her car previously was. "Ignore us," Steve called over. "We're just…Mormons," Matt said before we all lost it and cracked up in the biggest giggle fest I've ever seen.

A minute later Matt was still going and didn't look like he'd slow down soon. "Uh-oh Garetty, Garetty's having a giggle attack," I teased through my own laughter. He waved Steve off but still kept going tears in his eyes.

*.*.*

On the drive home we were all jazzed and pumped up about what we had done today. We were acting like a pack of crazy ass hyenas. And for once I didn't mind it. Up front Steve was joyously hitting Matt's glove box, which of course Matt asked him to stop. Don't know why he cared. If he dented it he could just put a sticker on it like he did the rest.

"Just take it easy. How did nobody see that? It was out in the open!" Matt exclaimed. "Her face for some reason I cannot get her face out of my mind!" I said my voice all bubbly like I have never heard it. "It was so awesome. I mean Saphira, you were right girl. This has given me so many ideas as to what we can do," Steve said. His excitement was cut off as an angry loud honk sounded from behind us.

I glanced over at Saphira; she had been oddly quiet all day. Not as vocal as she usually was when around us. I mean she was quiet but this one was different, darker around the edge in a sick nauseous way. She faced the window and leaned heavily on her arm, which propped up her head.

"You okay," I asked. Her face slowly turned to me. She didn't look to good.

Drooping eyes; that were too tired to have happened this fast, she was just jumping with us not thirty minutes ago. She had done the same things we had. Except her big move which unlike Matt's, hadn't failed and didn't have a nosebleed like Steve. But she had been fine till right now. And this wasn't like overtaxing; I knew what that looked like for both powers and lack of sleep, this wasn't it. That guy would not shut up; hitting that horn like it was his job and every other honk Saphira winced so I, being a gentleman and crushing on her, decided I should do something.

"Go around," Matt huffed. "Ah that's just some redneck asshole," Steve waved off. "Steve, Steve take the camera," I said handing it over. "Okay just make sure it's zoomed out all the way," I instructed. "Got cha. I can see you," he said. "Okay buddy," Matt muttered. "Whatcha going to do?" Steve asked. "The hell it this guys problem?"

"What are you doing?"

What was I going to do to him? Give him a little push; shake the car up a little? I didn't know, only that there was this faint call to do something, an instinct. Everyone had done something big today but me. I'm not a vain person but I wanted to show that I was still in this team. That I was with them, that I could belong here with them. I didn't want to be left behind like everything else in my life. This one really mattered to me, I wanted this so much.

"Abracadabra." I said the magic word alright, the word that sent my whole good life back into its downward spiral. The moment before the word left my mouth Saphira had tensed up. Her eyes shooting open in horror, before the car even hit the rail. But that wouldn't register in my mind until later. Plus the rest of the night pushed everything else from my head.

The hood popped open a little, the head lights sparked out and he veered off the road into the guardrail and over the side.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Andrew!" Steve shouted. "Oh shit. What the hell did you just do?! Are you crazy?!" Matt demanded. "Matt stop, stop the car. We gotta go down there, right now," Steve said.

"You guys I'm sorry," I pleaded for them to believe me. But I was ignored.

I was more scared at that time then I care to admit. I was fucking terrified. One, I had just caused a guy to crash. Two, if Matt, Steve or Saphira left me now there was nowhere else to turn to. And this time there would be no one to blame or push this off on. There was one cold hard fact, one smack of reality that stuck with me for the rest of the afternoon and a few moments in the days that followed; I did this, it was my fault.

It was a wonder we didn't break anything going down the slope. It had started pouring down rain, making the already slick slope even more hazardous. The car was sticking straight up in the water, the front end and the driver under water.

"Why did you that, Andrew?" Matt accused me after seeing the mess. "I didn't mean to," I said, praying he believed me but knew he wouldn't. He didn't listen to me in a normal situation. Forget this. "Shit! What is wrong with you?"

Me? This wasn't my fault. I mean it was but I didn't actually want to be responsible for this. "Look at this!" Matt shouted panicked and scared. "Will you just calm down," I snapped back. But it was really more for my benefit then his. His yelling made my head feel the same pressure I had when we were practicing with the ball. I was freaking out. My mind had gotten away from me twice now. It was my power but it was instinctive. It took what it thought I needed to do but instead of hesitating like I usually did, it had no such problem.

"He's still in there," Matt informed me as he scrambled to get his phone. Then there was this rumbling sound and the ripples around the car became more frequent. It was happening again, the instinct. Steve broke out of his stupor and began taking off his shoes and coat and dove in to get the guy. Matt just got even more frustrated and louder.

"Whoa, Andrew. Stop. Stop! Just stop helping!" he shouted. "What- I can fix this. I can get him out," I promised and I'm sure I could have or rather the instinct thought I could and should. I felt the pressure ebb, giving up on its task. Maybe my mind had decided that since I finally had the power to push back I shouldn't waste it. My head had trained with the power, it knew how to use them but my mind did what I was too unsure or scared to do and did it. My mind stood up for me without telling the rest of me. Matt started huffing and pacing, his phone gone so no signal. "Steve be careful!" he shouted just before Steve reached the car and went under for the guy.

"Oh my God, Andrew. Are you kidding me?" Matt yelled. I wasn't even listening to him anymore it was all the same now. I was more focused on the fact that Steve was still under and the longer he was, was making me even more of a wreck. I was beginning to hyperventilate, which also seemed to make me hyperaware. Now I realized that Saphira was right behind me. She hadn't said a word through the whole ordeal; in fact she looked pretty checked out. Like someone had flipped a switch in her head. At that moment Steve came back up. Thank God. "Matt, he's got em. He's got em."

Steve brought him up on the shore Matt helping him along. I gripped my camera tighter for something to focus on then what was happening. But that didn't distract me enough from the look of fear on Steve face as he looked at me. It cut me deep like a knife. No one ever looked at me like that. That was what I looked like when Richard was around. I couldn't bear being anywhere near like him. I couldn't stand there anymore; I started walking back to the car.

Passing by Matt, who was giving someone directions on his phone. I knew it was the cops; there was no other logical person for him to call. I also knew that there was no way they'd know what really happened here. But this could end up on the news, which Richard watched constantly. If he found out I was anywhere near this he wouldn't need logic or reason to blame me. And that scared me more than anything that had happened here today. In blind panic I tried to grab the phone from Matt. I fired off some bullshit excuses but I was desperate. Matt just shoved me out of his way and went up the road to wait for the cops. I felt pressure on my arm. It was Saphira. She had decided to come back from wherever she checked in at. "Don't worry. I know it's not your fault," she assured with an easy grin. For some strange reason I believed her. For once there was someone next to me in the storm that was my life. It was nice.

*.*.*

Of course nice is a privilege I just don't seem to have. After they got the guy shipped to the nearest hospital, and the cops took our statements and eat up Matt's lie, Matt drove us to some parking lot. It was too much to ask that he'd accept my apology and reasons of not meaning to. No, he was still furious. He stomped around, steaming at the ears. Steve paced, still trying to warm up. Saphira sat on the hood of the car watching the rest of us with her big eyes. She reminded me of a gargoyle, ready to swoop in when the need arose.

"Do you think this is a game Andrew?" Matt finally exploded. What were we doing earlier? He was such a hypocrite.

"I don't understand how you guys can be so angry," I snapped. Really, I hadn't meant to lose control, but none of us were perfect at this. It was only for a moment, true a big moment but Matt could have cracked that guy with the gum's head in if he had lost it.

"You don't understand how we can be angry?" he asked in disbelief. "Andrew you put somebody in the hospital tonight, okay?" he asked slowly like I was incapable of grasping the idea. "Do you understand that? Andrew look at me. You put a _guy_ in the _hospital_! How do you feel about that?"

What kind of dumbass question was that? I felt horrible, terrified and guilty. And mad that you always turn on me the second there's any doubt. We were having the first real fun I had had in so long, why would I ruin that?

"You_ hurt_ somebody. We need rules, okay?" he asked. No, it was not okay. I liked doing what I wanted for a change. I could finally have a say however small in what went on in my life.

"Rule number one; no using it on living things. Rule number two; you can't use it when you're angry," he said getting in my face on the last one. "That's it. Rule number three; I don't think we should be using it in public or telling anyone else." What the hell were we supposed to do with them? The power was growing, you couldn't keep it locked in the backyard.

"You can't just declare rules," I protested. "I will declare rules-" Matt started but I pressed on. "You're the one that said nothing matters." I pointed out. "I will declare rules," he answered lowly. "If we are gonna keep going, and we're getting stronger, we need rules."

"Matt's right we need rules," Steve agreed but he didn't sound completely onboard.

"Exactly, we need rules and structure," Matt insisted. Fae laughed. The soft sound shattering the air around like a gunshot. All attention went to her.

"This isn't something that gets decided by a vote, let alone a jumped gun vote. This is a thing of nature: plain and simple. You try and cram something that's meant to be free into a cage, like a ship in a bottle, it's stupid. Something's are not meant to be caged or condensed, they are meant to be as you see them in nature. Nothing good ever came of trying to put a lid on a tornado. All that followed was pure chaos. Why? Because it blew up big time and royally fucked everyone involved. I say we let it do it wants, want it needs, and it'll burn out on its own, it'll all balance out," she said. I don't know if it was a trick of the streetlight or something but I could have sworn a look of knowing flashed through her eyes. Like she knew exactly what she was talking about and if she did then what had blown up for her?

"That's not an option right now. You saw what it did today when it was 'free'," Matt spat, shooting a glare in my direction. I hung my head not wanting to see the look on his face.

"Yeah, I got treated to the sight of you saying it was okay to write off you almost bashing a man's head in from the inside out in front innocent kids, and then you flip your shit when Andrew does something similar."

"Now wait a-"

"_I am not done_," she interrupted her voice cold, sharp steel. "Now I don't know what he was thinking. Probably something as innocent as you with the gum. All I know for sure was both of your tricks failed. Difference being; one was laughed at while the other was scorned. And the rate at which I saw you all start screwing him out was appealing." She paused to glare at the two. Steve looked a little guilty giving me hope but Matt still looked furious. I felt oddly happy in the middle of Matt accusing me of attempted manslaughter Saphira wouldn't stop her defense of me. "Now I'll level with you on us getting stronger. Hell we saw Steve move a whole freaking _car_ across a parking lot. What happened with the jeep was a horrible accident, yes, but an accident all the same."

"That's why we need order," Matt plowed though.

"No we don't. Taking action won't work with this, it needs to be hands off," she pressed back.

"Yeah you're good for that," he bit out taking Steve and I by surprise. Saphira looked indifferent. "No action at all. Never going anything, just running your smart mouth off but never proving it. And right now I've had it with your laid back attitude toward everything that's happened. This is serious."

"I'm not saying it isn't," she assured calmly. Matt seemed appeased, until-

"_What_ I am saying is that it's not his fault. You're acting stupid crazy over one mistake, like you haven't made one since this started. And you're passing out judgments left and right like you own us. News flash: you don't. You are not the leader, the boss or whatever of this group. We are in this together. You can't go around and tell us to contain what we have. Nothing good will come of it, I know it. You want to doom yourself, that's fine but don't ask that of us. Let us make our own mistakes and learn from them. That's life, plain and simple as nature."

"So what then? Ignore what happened today? A man is in the hospital because of this thing we have. If that was an accident, if we don't handle it now, then I hate to see what we do when we do something on purpose. This is dangerous. It's for our own good."

Saphira only scoffed and looked away from him.

"Listen to me you-" he said while grabbing her arm. That's when all hell broke loose. She whipped around with a murderous look of pure rage with a hint of fear and pain. She then shoved him not only off of her but twenty feet back, making the car rumble as well.

"_No you listen to me. You don't tell me what to do, __ever.__ I am not your toy_," she growled, then she turned and never once looking back she walked off.

Matt and Steve looked shell-shocked at her but I wasn't. Looking at her was everything never expressed for myself. Matt was out of line with all his self-appointed leadership, it was all bullshit he know nothing about what we were going. She was me with a spine.

*.*.*

I didn't want to go home. There was too much on my mind, that I couldn't stand the thought of being inside, much less be near Richard if he decided to go off with my luck he would. So I went for a walk in the park…at three in the morning. I've seen Matt mad, pissed and disappointed. But that look he gave me when he dropped me off, was the worst.

It made me feel completely weak and useless when I was finally getting some form of confidence back. I could finally pretend that I wasn't any of those. Ah denial my home sweet home.

I sniffed for what was probably the thousandth time tonight. I hated crying. My eyes felt bruised (I would know) and my body shock and it was from cold or stress. There was this stage of crying that I always detested the most but always had to do where I felt the need to look in the mirror and watch myself cry which only stood to make me cry more because I truly did look every bit as pathetic as I felt.

My eyes would be red and puffy, my lips trembled, and I looked paler than usual and sick looking. Totally and completely pathetic.

I knew that crying wouldn't fix anything if it did then Mom would be better and I would have a dad that actually acted like a dad instead of my beater, and I would have at least one person who cared enough about me to be with me for no other reason than that. But I just needed to let it out before it caved in on me. After that the cycle would start all over again. I wanted this to stop. I wanted to stop being able to predicted with brutally accuracy how things were going to go in my life. I wanted Matt to stop talking me down. I wanted Richard to be my dad again. I wanted to be able to do something right and have people like me instead of yelling, hitting, or talking bad about me because all I ever was a screw up. But I had wished for this so many times and it never happened.

For a while now I had been hearing this faint but constant rumbling sound, only it wasn't so faint anymore. In fact it sounded like it was right on top of me. I looked up when the sound abruptly cut off. Parked thirty feet away from me was Saphira and her bike. What the Hell was she doing here? Last time I saw her she was pissed off at Matt and looked stark ravening. She scared the hell out of Matt and Steve but not me. Nothing about her scared me, it was inspiring to see actually. She did what I wouldn't do, stand up for herself and make sure no one talked down to her. She walked off without looking back once, so what was she doing here before the sun even came out?

Why did she have to come here when I was at one of my heights of depression?

"What are you doing here?" I asked once she was close enough. I was a little mad that I was found because it seemed like whenever I was at my lowest people wanted to be near me but it did felt nice that she a friend came looking.

"Felt like you needed me," she answered. Felt? Okay even I think that's weird and I'm semi immune to her weirdness because of my crush. Maybe Matt could figure it out with one of his theories. Matt… the anger came rushing back.

"Well as you can see I'm fine. I don't need you," I snapped. I couldn't afford to care anymore, it only came to bite me no matter how hard I tried to be likeable. I wasn't giving up more protection. And no one cared enough to try to understand why. "Then why are you crying?" she asked softly. Immediately, I tried to get rid of the tear tracks on my face to throw out her evidence but didn't stop her. "Why are you alone at this park at night…morning, ignoring your phone?" she asked.

"So?" I pouted. God I was acting like a child but I didn't care. Just anything to be left in peace. It'd be easier to be mean and push her away, it worked with literally everyone else but she had to be the most stubborn person alive. She got her info by standing on the edge your vision and waited you out, till you cracked.

"So…want to tell me the reason?" she asked. "No," I answered too quickly. "Andrew," she said softly. That did it, the way she said my name. It wasn't a coax, no frustration leaking out, anything it was just me. By now if it were Matt talking to me he'd have lost patience with me and flat out demanded an answer. And the fact that she wasn't just made me mad.

"Go away!" I snapped, my hands curling into fists. Why couldn't she just leave like everyone else? Why did she have to be so nice to me? I couldn't do the things she seemed certain I would do or be. I didn't want to be with her only to see her leave when she realized there wasn't any more to me then there already was.

"No, I don't think I will," she stated, and sat beside me. She started humming a tune and didn't say a word for another five minutes. When she stopped she asked in a calm tone, "You know you can talk to me about anything and it'd only between us. I won't tell Steve, Matt or my dad."

"You said you can't lie to your dad if he asked," I reminded her, though the idea of finally letting it all out was tempting.

"I'd plead the fifth, it's our business, only you can decided whether someone knows it or not," she assured.

"Weird words from a future detective," I commented.

"Well you're not a job. You're my friend," she smiled that carefree smile. She made me care, smile, laugh, and made me forget the shitty life I have outside her company. But that was the thing I could never repay her for all the good she did for me. I couldn't keep her just like mom. I sniffed to hold back more tears that threatened to come out. She reached her hand out to me but I flinched. Her hand paused and hovered for a second then dropped back to her lap. She looked like she wanted to ask but she said nothing. Her quiet was making me mad. Anger, I could deal with, threats and shouting were not new to me. But this, this infinite patience and understanding silence I just couldn't wrap my head around.

"What, not going to ask me what's wrong?" I snapped. My emotions were at an all-time strung out, my defense higher than ever yet at same time lower than I would have liked when around the one person that saw through any and everyone's bullshit.

She glanced at me then looked around. "Would you answer me if I did?"

"No," I answered.

"Then what's the point?" she asked.

There…there wasn't a point. There hadn't been for a while now.

"My dad beats me," I said, my voice filled with regret, both for the fact and that I had admitted it out loud to someone. Why did I say that? I jumped through hoops to make sure no one ever did. Not even Matt knew and he was family. I never said anything because all it would get me was pity, and I wanted none of it.

She didn't say anything, just stood up and held her hand out of me. "Come on, there's a better place for this," she said an intense look in her eyes. "I'm not talking about it," I stated. "I know. You don't have to say a thing, just listen. I'm going to tell you my story," she reassured.

*.*.*

The better place turned out to be the roof of her father's law firm. We stood in silence and for once it wasn't awkward, because I knew the reason why she wasn't talking. There's never a simple easy way to tell someone something that has screwed them up.

She let out a deep sigh. "The story of my life," she began, "is exactly that, or how I wish could tell it. To tell it like it happened to someone else, because saying it any other way makes it more real. That's why you have your camera, right?" she asked.

That was it exactly. To pretend it wasn't me all the shitty stuff happened to: shove it off on someone else.

"It sucks, doesn't it? To feel caged, trapped in a life you want nothing to do with but can't leave because of some responsibility you feel bond to do. And you feel like the most vial person alive for wishing that responsibility gone just so you can leave. Hating yourself for even letting the thought cross your mind."

She was right. It felt horrible and wrong to go off and have fun when my mom was back home stuck in our house_ dying_. It just didn't seem fair. Course mom would say it wasn't fair of me to put my life on hold for her but I just couldn't help it.

"I know what it feels like to have a parent hurt you, deeply. My mom was a nice, amazing woman. She was a loving wife and a successful therapist. But she had a certain, specific idea of how her life should look like to the public. How her daughter should act, look, and do. Suffice to say I wasn't any of them. Ya know me wild, free and slightly crazed but always fun to be around. And she made me feel like that everything I was, was wrong and I believed her. I mean, come on I was a kid, it was my mother. On every TV show a mom is always right and always there for you giving out encouragement. I never questioned her because I didn't want to believe my mom hated me, so I did everything she asked. Everything was scheduled and precise and when you take the guesswork out of life there's nothing special about it anymore. My life became as monotonous and dreary as a dark winter with no end in sight as are all dark low times of one's life."

She was like me. Only she had all the order without chaos and mine was the opposite. It was easy to imagine her dressed like a doll doing nothing that made her happy and only doing it because she wanted her mother to love her. She lived a lie. She went through life telling people she was fine but when you pealed back the surface you saw all the black ooze that was buried away. Story of my life was the same as hers only at different times. We traded our dark times. This afternoon made sense, her looking so sure of a disaster if we followed Matt's rules. Something had happened to sell the idea wholeheartedly that things shouldn't be constantly manipulated to be bent out of the shape they were originally.

"But you're not that now and you're moms gone. What happened?" I inquired.

She grinned a bitter, cruel smile. "Reality."

"When I was nine, my mom and I were out in the front yard. She was on the phone with one of her lovers. And I heard her tell them that my dad would never find out about her because he was a simple-minded fool. I just stared at her. She could do, say what she wanted to me but never about my dad. I saw how much love was in the looks he gave my mom. And that was enough that even though I was young I knew I could never tell him what his wife did because of that. I couldn't break his heart."

That's why I didn't tell mom. She still loved Richard. He'd always be that heroic firefighter to her. I couldn't change that picture no matter how many bruises he gave me. It wasn't worth it to only see the look of utter betrayal on her face if she found out.

"My mom didn't know that's what I thought, she just saw that I heard her, so she tried to get rid of me. She tossed a ball out into the yard. And I forgot what she said, forgot everything she tried to teach me. I was just so happy to do something messy, something that was finally me. So happy I didn't see the car coming."

Ice spread through my body starting from my heart. I knew how this could end but it didn't seem possible. My dad beat almost every day after he lost his job and sometimes so thoroughly I could not stand or even blink. He may call me worthless, a waste of space and money, and blame me for things I wasn't even there for. But it wasn't like hers. Some may think this was a soap opera, being dramatic and unrealistic. But to me when you live a life parallel to someone else it's not that hard to wrap your head around the idea of a crazy, controlling parent taking out their ideas and frustration out on their kid and having them stay because they wanted the other parent happy, even though the whole thing was one big fat lie.

"Legally I've been dead for a minute and a half and in a coma for three months. Once I woke up and was told how close I came. I thought about how easy and content I had been to let my life slip by. I wasn't living not really; I was waiting, waiting for things to be set right and I almost waited myself into an early grave."

"Did you see a white light?" I asked. Stupid.

A calm sort of distant grin curled at the corners of her mouth. "No, I saw snow. Not just any, the perfect snowfall; light flacks in the air, a dust layer on the ground not cold enough to send you in too quick."

"Why tell me this? I mean me of all people," I asked.

She shrugged. "Rude as it sounds, it's easier to talk about how fucked up one's life is to another fuck up. That and I trust you, because you understand what it's like to have a shitty depressing life and fight and claw your way to the top just to breathe again. I want you to know I want to help you if that's what you want. But that's a call only you can make, for it to get better. You have to decide whether or not that's what you really want, only then do things get better," she explained looking at me with those big blue eyes.

My call. My call never mattered to anyone before and now here was this girl who had survived her shitty life and come out better and free, telling me she trusts me. But how could she let it go? Let go of that hate. I couldn't picture myself without it; it was so common to me now.

"How can you be like this? I- I mean how can you be the way you are? Happy and carefree as you are," I asked.

"Because I let that bitch steal nine years of my life without a fight. She's not going to dictate the rest. It's my life, I decide who I'll be with, where I go, what I do and how. This is my second chance at life, to do it over and do it right. With me calling the shots it's me taking control of my life so it never goes shitty again." Strong words from a strong girl. But I doubt I'll be that at least for a while I'm a creature of habit and it's been well beaten into my bones to avoid standing out. But like this afternoon when Saphira showed us there was a dark side to herself it was inspiring to watch her never back down to fight for what she believed in no matter who was trying to talk her down.

I wanted to refuse her offer for a shoulder to cry on but like I said earlier there was a cycle to my sadness. And the look on Matt's face, and the nothing to go home to…well maybe to was time to come out a little.

"It's a long story," I warned with a smirk as I quoted her.

She gave me an 'oh gawd' eye-roll. "Free woman, I do what I want. And what I want is to sit on a rooftop listening to me friend tell me a story if he feels to do so," she smirked back.

It took a while back finally I let out a sigh began. "I guess it started when my mom got sick. She has cancer."

She bit her lip but kept quiet.

"Her medicine is real expense as you can guess. And at first it was okay, we could cope. But then Richard got injured on the job, a torn kneecap or something. Then there were his bills, moms' bills, my school, and he got forced into an early retirement with a slim insurance check to pay for it all. And I guess that was when he snapped or something, because suddenly I was in the way all the time, or not doing anything, or screwing around. He's favorite is screaming at me that I'm not going to amount to anything because I'm a failure at everything." I started tearing up again as the hopelessness of my life settle in.

"And he's right. After graduation I'm going nowhere. I can't go to college because Richard sure as hell isn't going to pay; my grades aren't good enough for a scholarship. On top of going nowhere and doing nothing, I'm constantly alone. Matt, my own cousin, prefers to ignore me or abandon me for his more interesting friends. Steve only talks to me because of this. But they don't care; they could do this without me."

I pressed the heel of my palms into my eyes to stop the tears. "God. I am just so sick and tired of everything weighing me down and kicking me into submission. I feel like I'm stuck in hell with no way out. No matter what I try I can't get out of Richards shadow to help my mom. I have to watch the only person who still gives a damn about me die. She keeps making me say I'm stronger than anything. But how can I when I feel so useless? There are these days where she looks like she's going to get better and I know,_ I know_ it's a lie but I can't help but hope then a little while later watch it plummet. Like when she was going to meet you, she wasn't so good that morning then after an hour it was like nothing happened. I'd do anything to help her. I have no job, I'm not qualified for anything, and I have no car to get there even if I was. I am nothing."

I felt an arm around my shoulders, her hand rubbing my shoulder. "You're not nothing Andrew. You're just stuck. Would you believe me if I said that no matter how dark and bleak things look now they will turn up? Because it's been in my life when you're this far down only place left to go is up."

My lack of answer told her I didn't believe, I couldn't bring myself to. She sighed in frustration for the first time tonight.

"Alright, look you. I'm no stranger to pity parties. Hell I've thrown a few myself. I'm not perfect. I have no plans to be perfect, I just want to be able to look back on my life and say I lived it and nothing and no body stopped me. You and I aren't that different. We are both fighters. I won my war. And I know you can win yours. Because despite everything you just said, your still here. You still get up after the last beat down because underneath it all you have hope, hope that if you hold on long enough you will see the end of it. Stand with your head high and say I beat them, they didn't get me. You still fight for that better time you only know in your dreams. And when the time comes to have that one last fight. You are going to win and then you're going to use this camera and video the faces of everyone that ever talked shit about you and watch as their jaws drop to China. Having seen it myself I can tell you there is no greater satisfaction then that," she smiled.

I was crying again but this time it was from surprise and happiest. For the first time I started to believe I would be free from everything. That I would get out of this crippling town and go and live for the first time in a long time.

"Thank you," I choked.

"You're welcome. Now then for the matter of your unemployment. Can you do windows, work a vacuum and empty trash?" she asked professionally and serious. The abrupt change of topic confused the hell out of me. "Yes," I answered slowly. "Then my dad can get you a job as the janitor at his firm. Not glamorous but dad pays well for hard work and potential."

I was stunned, this wasn't happing. I blinked but nothing changed it was real. "Why would he believe I have potential?"

"Because I say so and I can't lie to him, remember?" she asked, a gleam in her eyes. "You're serious?" I asked, the reality that this might actually be happening was starting to hit. "Well if you don't want it," she hedged, now looking a little nervous. "No, no, no I want it. I just have no way of getting there. Matt doesn't like picking me up for school," I said. "I could, if you don't mind my motorcycle."

"Why are you helping me?" I asked.

"Because no one helped me," she answered solemnly.

"This is really happing," I said hushed. The reality hitting gently for once. "I'd have thought you'd say that with the powers," she giggled. This is real, having light bubbles of happy flouting in your gut, to have things go right and stay long enough to enjoy them. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," I cheered and caught her in a hug and spun her around.

"Whoa, I'm happy for you and all but getting dizzy," she laughed. I put her down but didn't let go. She looked up at me and I actually literally felt time slow down. It wasn't a myth, that shit actually happened and it was happening to me. All I had to do was close less than an inch of space. So easy, so close yet so far. I wasn't scared, it wasn't that I didn't feel the moment or want to finally taste the happiest I knew no doubt would be there.

But something stopped me. I could close the space, I wanted to but it wasn't the moment, it was _a _moment I know that but not _the_ moment. There was just something missing. Well actually there was something still there. I wanted to have nothing to hold me down when I took this next step in my life to step out of the dark. I wanted that last chain on me to be completely gone, free of it all before I kissed her and have nothing but her for my future. So I didn't close the space instead I let go, mindful of the warmth still clinging my arms from holding her. I wondered if I was blowing this whole thing but I wanted all of her, a life of moments, not just this one.

"I feel like I should apologize for Matt, for what he said to you. And I wouldn't count on an apology, because getting one from him is like pulling teeth," I explained. "Eh no biggy. He hasn't fully grasped the idea that there are other people that can one up him, much less a girl he might chase. So I'm not mad at him, just frustrated at his lack of wanting to open his mind a little. And I think that's why he's having such a problem with this. Whatever this is it thrives on creativity. But he'll come around. I don't mind waiting, the alternative would be to argue about everything and it's just not worth it. We'd just be angry all the time, it's not worth it," she said. It was good to hear about the waiting, because now I could focus on breaking the last few chains away so I could finally give back all the good things she did for me.

*.*.*

We pulled up at my house an hour before the sun rise. "Thanks for the story and the job offer, and the just you know the everything," I said sheepishly. Thanks didn't begin to cover what she was doing for me.

"No prob. My dad's in court tomorrow so I can take you there after school on Tuesday, sound good?" she asked. "Sounds great," I grinned.

"Andrew!" an angry shout sounded from my house. Oh God, please no.

"Where the hell have you been boy?" Richard demanded. I didn't look at him, hopping that if I didn't see him, he'd disappear. No such luck, he stomped over to us. "Who the hell are you?"

"Nobody you need to concern yourself with Dick," Saphira replied icy. "Andrew get in the house, now," she said nicer to me. I took my chance and bolted for the door. Richard was still focused on Saphira. Just as he was about to fire another demand out, she reeved the engine and peeled off down the road, spraying dirt and gravel behind her and all over Richard. I laughed the rest of the way to my room, locking the door behind me, at the outraged, stunned, and downright hilarious look on Richards face when she called him Dick.

*.*.*

I hit my bedroom door harder then I liked or needed at the moment. But I couldn't help it; my head was spinning like a hijacked carousal. My vision blurring in and out, tunneling and twisting in a kaleidoscope of concerning shades of grays and blacks with white spots.

Why was this happening again? I didn't like it the first time when it happened this afternoon in the car. No warning, not even a baby hint before total mental shut down. Before my mind had become a disturbed slid show of confusing horrors. That jeep crashing through the barrier, that poor man as Steve dragged him away from a watery grave, and Andrew more upset then I've ever seen him in the park; surrounded by darkest in more ways than lack of light. Now, now the picture my twisting mind was giving me had upgraded to disturbed movie and was as nauseating as watching Matt turn so easy on his family. As the scene became clearer I almost wished it had stayed out of focus or better still never came at all.

There was lightening, a storm though not a natural one. There was a feel to it, almost like it was alive and obeying someone's command. There were two figures floating in the middle of this grim spectacle.

My mind began to spin faster so much so my body actually tried to catch it to make it stop, to no avail. I hit the floor harder than I did with the door, that I don't remember opening or closing. What was happing to me?

The vision now was adding audio to its nasty display. I could hear voices, both of which were shouting angrily and pleading. The dark voice was rising, coming in louder and madder, each word seemingly drowning out in the thunder around him, he was controlling the storm.

Then a lightning bolt lit up the scene bringing to light the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed, more than the rock and my mom's fucked up mentality.

There was Andrew looking demented and furious. A nasty, ugly bruise was blossoming on his face. No, that can't be right. Andrew wouldn't hurt anyone. He was a nice person with shitty luck but even at his lowest he was thinking of his mom or wanted to help but didn't want to be in an actual spotlight that had people noticing. But once he got past being scared or talked down to, he was amazing to watch at anything. But even the horrible sight of him was nothing next to what the lighting illuminated and displayed before me. Steve…

… Or rather Steve's body hung in midair. The happy excited eyes, that reminded me of a cute puppy, were blank and dead.

His body smoked from his singed coat then he just dropped, a literal dead weight to the ground with Andrew and me watching in frozen horror. Finally, my head cleared the vision pasted and with it the knowledge of what I was. Somehow I had been more supercharged then the others, I had the gift of foresight.

Oh God, why?

I know you think; oh wow you can see the future? That's awesome. No it's not. It's a fucking burden. Why, because it consumes you, no matter what. After a while the visions become more dire, horrifying, and personal enough for you to what to change it. And therein lays the reason this whole thing sucks. Because you never know if you should do something to stop it from coming or doing nothing and risking it becoming a whole Holocaust worse. But then if you don't do anything you get to stand by and watch the people you love fall into absolute ruin.

I don't think I should tell the others, yet. What I was going through, God knows Matt doesn't need the prompt to get more frustrated with me and plus if he starts ordering me around with his 'helpful tips' I'm going to seriously redo the view the others have on me. I think the only one I'd tell is Andrew, but later. He's finally getting some semblance of order and balance in his life. I wasn't going to make him worry. Because really that's what he is at heart; a caring worrier who constantly tried to lock his heart away from hurt but always freed it for something or other. That was part of the charm he didn't know he had. And that worrying is what gave me pause on telling him the two theories I had with us. One was for all those involved in this crew of misfits; the other was for him and only him. And he'd flip if he thought of it and completely revert back the recluse he used to be. I wish he could see that he wasn't as horrible as he thought he was. On the contrary, he's one of the freshest, funniest,_ brightest_ people I know.

He pushes people away to avoid getting hurt, to avoid the inevitable disappointment he knows all humans bring. I never bring it up because I know all too well how hard it is to talk about a parent turned bad. He avoids people and makes rude comments so people won't bother getting to know the real him. The him that even he is loath to admit is there, the one who desperately wants someone to take him in a hug and never let him go. He makes himself not care about anyone so he won't get attached and hurt after they leave. People who could know him and care about him and love him. People like me.

I know he doesn't like to live with all that self-doubt, dark thoughts when he should be happy and have to act like an adult when he needs to let loose and run wild. All that time spent alone, I can tell that it haunts him. But he doesn't know any other way to live. His dad hasn't given him much of a choice in the matter. And that will be the catalyst for the fall. His dad has drunkenly spent years sinking his claws into him to never see him be who he is and grow into he can be. And he had been fighting however small to get away.

But he can't run forever, and his monsters are catching up to him. They claw and growl and sprint and won't stop until they've torn him down. His free, careless days of childhood were over before they ever really had a chance to begin, and now he needs someone to save him from himself, to make it easier as an adult. And remember life wasn't always a fight for survival, that it could be fun.

If ever there was a person I wanted to save, it would be Andrew.

I can't have him realizing what I think might be possible when the natives are just looking for a reason to vote him off the island, to see him really lose control. And that wasn't going to happen, vision or not this I was too sure and serious about to leave now. I had said that I almost died waiting but now I had learned when to wait and when to act. Now it was time to take charge, for someone else to step into the light, to show not only himself but everyone how great and good he really was, and this time it would be for all to see.

*.*.*

There it is. Hope this was worth your wait.


	6. The Pledge

I am so sorry for the wait. I had some seriously annoying head congestion that I could not kick. But I'm back and hope this meets everyone expectations.

I might be able to finish this within four chapters (this one included) Also chapter titles are named after the three parts to a magician's trick from the Prestige (awesome-freaking Movie :)! )

"_Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "the Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course…it probably isn't."_

So this is what happens to you when the cluster fuck storm of life passes. You get a feeling like you're on Ambien, where you're drifting off, feeling like you've won the world. Even though you're still in your crappy house, with your snappy dad, and do absolutely nothing but stare at your rundown ceiling like its Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.

For the first time in years things were finally going the way I wanted. Richard was nursing a bruised and graveled ego after Saphira knocked it down a few notches, and wouldn't come out of his man cave in the garage, so I could finallyspend my time with mom. And wonderfully enough mom had pulled another one-eighty that lasted not mere minutes but two days straight and running. Life was good.

Even Matt's bitchy attitude and cold shoulder did not affect me. I had now mastered the art of tuning him out. Fae, to my knowledge, was ignoring him as well but doing it a hell-of-a-lot better.

Shoot, on Monday we spotted her talking to Steve outside school, in a one piece Panda suit, with detachable panda paw gloves and a hood with panda ears. That puts a smile on your face no matter who you are. Matt didn't count as he was an asshole.

They looked like they were having a serious conversation. Matt paid that no mind and just walked right up to them. The talking stopped immediately.

"Hey Steve," Matt greeted. "Hey guys," Steve responded.

"Andrew, we still good for Tuesday?" Saphira asked. "You bet." I smiled. She smiled back then turned cold and hard to Matt. "Matthew." she stated formally, as pulled on her hood and walked off. Damn, she could be intimidating and scary even in a full on Panda suit.

"I'm worried about her. That thing she did last Saturday…" Matt said. "I don't know Matt. You did grab at her when she wasn't looking. That would freak anyone out. I just think she reacted on instinct a little too strongly." Steve dismissed. It was nice to know he wasn't completely dazzled by Matt's harebrained theories.

"I could get that. But it was the way she did it; too controlled and easy. If it was instinctive it came before she seemed aware that it was happening, like the power responded for her and she let it."

Like something else was calling the shots. That's what happened to me with the truck, only I didn't know what it wanted and couldn't stop it until it was too late. But Fae, she had known about her power from the very beginning, and she had had more time alone with it; to refine it. So that even if it did flare up like mine had, it would know exactly how to handle the situation when it came and she couldn't respond fast enough. She hadn't held back that night though, she showed us what this power could be without all the doubt, all the over thinking, and limits put on it. Her power is as free as herself and it liked her for it. She was right, the more positive and creative energy poured into these powers, the more they flourish and grew. It wasn't scary unless you made it, like many things in life.

That's why Matt was having such a hard time with this. He depended and relied on solid ground, having it shift or, if even possible, disappear completely; he could not or would not accept it. He never had anything in his perfect pot smoking world disappear in a second, nothing changed. Steve had his parents being shady and harsh, Saphira's mom was the soap opera horror come to life, and my life was a pretty fucking textbook example in fucked up. Matt was the only '_normal_' person in this group. Still worried about college, pining over pretty girls, stashing the porn and drugs from the parental figures, and arguing with the annoying little pests. Nothing in his world changed and he wasn't going to let it go easy. That's why he fought the most abnormal member of the group: Saphira.

"Come on Matt, Fae's our friend, just apologize!" Steve said trying to appease and smooth over this car wreck. Whatever he thought about what I did, he liked Saphira and the time she spent with us. He had one divorce at home he didn't need to see another fight break out over not wanting to communicate.

"Why the hell do I have to apologize?!" Matt demanded. "Because you knew you were pissing her off and you still kept at it. You don't do that with women. They will win an agreement if it kills them or you. She wanted to tell you what she thought and you didn't even try to listen. You expect everyone to agree with you, they want their opinion at least heard even if you never go for it. She agreed we were getting stronger and all that, but yes; we should be careful, but not cap it off. It'd be like tying a knot in a running hose and expect it not to explode at some point. This thing is for all of us and we should make the decision together."

"So you're siding with her?" Matt asked hotly.

"No, man. I'm just saying you both had good points. But you took it too far and actually made it physical. She was done the other night, she had said her piece and was going to walk away and you dragged her back. Matt, man, you can't expect her of all people to like rules. From the moment we met her, she's been a one woman tornado. And telling her to put a lid on it wasn't the best thing to say."

I saw the moment Matt realized he was wrong but damn if he'd admit to it. He knew the difference between Saphira and him and yet he made no attempt to bend a little around her. She tried but the minute she saw he'd never meet her half-way she stopped at a lost cause. She stopped asking him for things he'd never deliver on. Then he got in her face and threw her secret fear in her face, and she set him straight in the only way his smoked out brain would understand.

I didn't know how they were going to get past this. Matt would never apologize to me… his _family_, and Saphira would give him an especially hard time, since she'd take the exact amount of revenge owed and leave him alone. I couldn't see a way for this whole car wreck of a mess to blow over, for Matt to obsess about something else.

Tuesday.

I woke up feeling like I swallowed a rock. Today I might finally get a job. Sure Fae had promised but it was her dad that made me pause. I was a teenage guy hanging around his attractive little girl; a protective raging Hulk came to mind. No matter what Saphira said about me, he was still going to have that voice in his head telling him what was likable about me and what was not.

The day went by kind of surreal. Nothing happened; I just did what I was there to do. Like the day was breathing in before it screamed. At the end of the day in the parking lot Saphira drove up in an actual car. I wasn't a car guy so I had no idea what it was, but going by how every jock that looked at it drooled, it'd be safe to say it was a wet dream on wheels.

"Where are you two going?" Matt asked.

"I got him a job interview and a lift." Saphira smirked, leaning out her window, throwing a wink in my direction.

"Why am I just now hearing about this?!" Matt demanded, hating being out of the loop. I don't know why I didn't tell him, there wasn't a specific reason. I just didn't. It wasn't from spite, or smugness that I was moving on in life, I just didn't feel I needed to tell our so called "Leader".He never cared what I did before, why start now?

"Well you go kill it, man!" Steve congratulated excitedly. Matt just grumbled to himself.

I was doing a good job of hiding how nervous I was, and by good I mean AHHH! I was one gentle breeze away from breaking into a cold sweat and having my legs actually turn into noodles. A lawyer's office is intimidating whether you're there for court or not. Everyone's got on sharp suits, thick files that decide people's fates. It's a nightmare.

It probably wouldn't have been so bad if everyone there saw Saphira too. As it was she was here enough and had her invisibility charm to make everyone not give a second glance. I, however, was the fly in the soup. I tried dressing up; dark no hole jeans, my least ratty sneakers, and a dark t-shirt and leather jacket. But some people still shot me a glare of how the hell did security **fail to not **let me in.

Maybe it was because it looked like I might finally see the light at the end on the tunnel that these hard looks hurt me more than ever. Before I never really entertained the idea things would get **better** and had accepted the shitty quality my life had taken on. But now I had struggled up to the ledge above and had the chance to fall and really hurt myself.

We reached one of the many glass walled offices, but this one read Managing Partner on the door, only there was no one in. "Good grief. Uh okay you wait here. I'll go hunt him down. Don't look anyone in the eye they're a skittish bred as is, no need to push." Saphira rambled before dashing off.

I usually didn't do that anyway so it was easy. She wasn't gone two minutes when around the corner two suits appeared in a heated agreement. Well one was heated, sweating actually, the other was calm, cool, and obviously winning; it showed in the wicked, hard gleam in his black eyes. I hoped to God that this was just a really good lawyer working for Saphira's dad and not her dad himself.

The guy wasn't huge but he was big enough to not make you want to mess with him, in the courtroom or out of it. Dressed in such a sharp suit, you could be cut to shreds just from looking at it too long. His black hair was cut back short but still had enough to make it look fluffed, softening his otherwise intimidating appearance but still professional enough to make you pause and rethink if what you came to tell him was really that important.

They weren't quite screaming at each other but it was loud enough that sound was magnified by the glass.

"Why the hell do you have to constantly undermine my pull with the associates, you agreed that the overseeing them was my department." the smaller and sweating of the two growled. "I did agree to that. However, I never agreed that you should go parading around like the Godfather and scare them to death. First years are just as important as fifth years, they're all here to learn and win for us." The other responded coldly yet firm. I had heard this way of talking sense from somewhere.

"They're paper pushers at best and annoying and late the rest of the time. They need a little scare, otherwise they'll never learn what kind of cut throats and hard-asses are waiting in the courtroom."

"They already do when the hardest, cruelest, flesh eating psychois breathing down their necks at work. This is a law firm not the playground at elementary school. Get that through your head or take your tough love elsewhere."

"You wouldn't dare! I close more cases then anyone here." Sweater stated, obviously smug about it. "Yeah and I've learned the only reason why that is, is because you push and scare that third year, Phil, into it. You just show you face at court. So if you don't change, I think Phil would love a job where he already does all the work and get all the credit." the guy closed with a shark like grin. While the other guy just gaped like a fish and turned a hilarious shade of puce.

The big guy was ten times as scary as the other but he backed it up sound logic. He knew what went on in this place and had no problem correcting the arrogant pompous bastard on it. There was something in the way he carried himself in that air of command attitude, the follow me because I know what I'm doing that was so rarely taught. It was something he was born with and boy did he use it, and for a good cause.

"You are such a- such a-" Sweater sputtered, scrambled to come up with a good comeback. But the fight was over.

"I had a meeting four, and you're little tantrum made my late. So why don't you go back to your office and try and find an attitude more befitting toyour job. Still here?" he asked when the guy stayed. I almost thought he'd stomp his foot to complete the while rebuffed school girl attitude he had going on, but he just huffed and stalked off, coming my way, grumbling curses that would make a sailor blush, yikes!

He passed by Saphira's dad's door, paused, and then scuffled in, in a perfect I'm-up-to-no-good fashion. It wasn't really my place to go spying on lawyers but this guy was up to something that rubbed me in such a wrong way that was too much to ignore. He was hunched over the desk, flipping through some files.

"Let's see what he does when he's the fool." Sweater chuckled under his breath, reaching for a pen.

It was one thing to talk or demean someone behind their back but another to ruin something major for someone else, drag someone innocent into his childish game. What could I do that would stop him?

I pictured a fountain, like one you see at a park or near a fancy hotel, only instead of the spray coming out of a pond it would come out the pen. It worked. The pen exploded out the backend all over his fancy shirt and covered his face. He let out this high pitched girlish screech, no disrespect to girls that's just what those types of sounds are called, and rushed out of the office to the restroom. I couldn't hold back a laugh at a payback well played.

Then I saw something that froze my blood and heart faster than nitroglycerin.

The big guy was leaning against the wall not ten feet away from me, arms crossed, his eyes locked on me and completely serious. Two things came to mind. One, he somehow knew it was me that made the pen explode. And two this was Saphira's dad; he could be no one else with that look, that logical verbal smack down to the rat bastard I just pranked.

"I- uh – I didn't," I stuttered, not sure if I was trying to apologize or deny what he so clearly saw me do.

"Save it kid. I know you did that." he said, still studying me with his calculating eyes.

I gulped feeling a cold sweat start beading up on my forehead and the hairs in the back of my neck rise in terror.

"So you're Andrew, the boy with the camera, my daughter's best friend and my new janitor," he grinned. "New j-janitor? Don't you have to interview me tosee if I'll work out here?" I asked lamely. A part of my head that wasn't choked by the terror of being caught scolded me for questioning the man that now agreed to give me a job.

"For the past month my daughter won't stop talking about you and I just saw you save the Preston merger file and humiliate the office ass brilliantly. I'd give you a law job if it were legal for good work like that," he chuckled, going into his office.

He really wasn't as intimating as his appearance suggested. I had forgotten that this was the same guy on the other end of Saphira's phone call that first training day in Matt's backyard. The one that was a fan of the Jell-O trick so much he used it on people, in a law office, and like his daughter knew sarcasm as their first language. He had the same commanding aura that filled up a room and scared the hell out of people. She toned it down to keep unnoticed, while he let it flare out like we could our powers. No wonder he had taken this well, to him they had already had a certain power. Now it was the real thing for his daughter. But fun uncle or Hulk dad they'd both still kick my ass if I hurt her.

He saw me work my powers and instead of freaking out he congratulated me.

"So you and my daughter, huh?" he drawled, his face blank but his eyes burning. The panic came rushing back. I should really stop that. One of these days it will make me shout something stupid.

"We haven't done anything." Like that. Now I was fighting the urge to slam my head on the wall for being so stupid, and I had been doing so well!

Then he smiled the same relaxed grin his daughter gave me all the time. "Easy kid, I'm only out for blood in the courtroom or when someone actively annoys me. But then you saw that."

"Now to business; the job. It's really basic office maintenance, take out the trash, vacuum offices, Windex windows and the possible weekly bonus if I ask you to pester someone while I'm in court or on a case but that's only if you're okay with it. Saphira have my ass if I was too hard on ya."

Saphira had been down playing it when she said she was her father's daughter. It was like talking to Saphira, you know, minus the difference in gender, of course. I still hadn't said anything back; too caught up in the moment. Instead of thinking me as being stupid, he gave me a sympathetic look.

"First time dealing with a girl's dad?" he asked. I nodded. "You lasted longer than I think most would, given what I first come off as. I know what you and that group do. My daughter tells me everything. I'd be meeting you all at one point anyway. You've just been the first because Fae likes you." He paused and a scary big grin spread across his face. It gave me chills. "I gotta say I'm looking forward to meeting this Matt character. Sounds to me like he needs to get his own shit together before he starts going around dictating what others do."

Did it make me a bad person to love that the protective Hulk was out for my cousin and not me? Eh who cares, I can breathe easier now. "I really can't thank you and Saphira enough for this," I said. Really, I couldn't. From the moment we met she was more involved with me then even Matt. That kind of personal attention I had only had with my mom. She was just an amazing person; smart as hell, tough as hell, drop dead attractive. Everything I wasn't, and everything I wanted but never thought I'd get. But then her greatest power was the one that prove people wrong about her and yourself.

"This whole thing's been good for her. She's finally looking happy again. I've always been proud of her, she takes shit from no one and helps those people ignore. You know the story, but I trust you understand the difference between hearing about it and seeing it. I should have seen it but my girl got her perfect poker face from me. She was finally getting some real life in her after the whole mess. Then you lot came and now she's glowing as clichés as it sounds. However, I don't really like how this whole meeting went down but I like the outcome too much to complain…heavily that is. Got a protective hulk reputation to keep."

"I know what to you mean, sir. Charlie," I corrected at the look he gave me. "She's getting me to appreciate the things in my life and is actually helping me make moves toward doing something with it."

"That's my girl. Well welcome aboard. I'll email you the info for HR and you can start next week," he said reaching out shake my hand.

Saphira walked in at that moment. Either I was grinning like an idiot or she had watched the whole thing, not much privacy to be had with glass walls.

Saphira skipped on in with a big smile on her face.

"_Hello Charlie_," she greeted in traditional unicorn fashion. "How'd you get past security?" he asked. Saphira just waved his question off and hoped on his desk. "I waved a donut in front of them and made them play fetch. Got to keep them active or when a real threat comes they'll be too winded to do any good."

"How you been?" he asked still laughing.

"Good. Anyone try to steal your kidney?" Saphira bantered back.

"No, but this merger and Hugh are trying to take my liver, pack of vultures," he grumbled. "But I had back up this time." he said shooting me a wink.

"Told you, you two would be friends and pulling pranks on the villagers, namely Hugh Pain-in-your-ass," she assured.

"Ah I would have had more time for ya if Hugh hadn't done his teenage girl reject role," he sighed.

"No worries, we understand. Go and be smart and whatnot," Saphira giggled. "See you at home for dinner."

"Thank you again and I will see you at work next week," I said. Barely keeping the huge ass smile off my face and giggled like a manic in the elevator going down and on the ride home at the words. Finally I could say them and it was the honest to God truth. I was finally getting out of the pileup Richard had put in my way in life. I was seeing the sunshine on the other side and it was amazing.

There's something so amazing about life. Philosophers have likened it to a road the winding turn, the curves, the forks to choose from. Up until now my life was one straight dark uneven path into more dark and uneven places.

It had been a month since Fae had gotten me my job and it was great. There wasn't much thought involved but it was okay with me I would always love a quiet moment to myself, now I was being paid for it. Hugh, or as he was referred to by Charlie and I, the office jester, had given me his version of a welcome.

It boiled down to him only seeing me when I would talk to Charlie, in code if it was about the powers, and he had walked by on a conversion about Saphira. He came in and said Charlie would lose some office cred what with his daughter dating the help. I silently popped a hole in his coffee cup in retaliation. Charlie broke down crying at it.

At home Richard was confused 9 out of 10 of the times, and Mom was still doing amazing; she was even getting around without the wheelchair more and more! I had been holding my breath waiting for the ball to drop but the more days that passed the more I stopped worrying.

Matt was still silently fuming at my 'abuse' of power. I have no idea why he was so damn fixed on it. Yes it happened. Yes, it was awful and my fault. But it was over and done, the rest of us had moved on and I had said I was sorry enough that the rest were getting sick of hearing it. Matt wasn't by any means mean or vindictive on purpose, hell he was the least violent person around, but he still managed to cut you deep with his judgmental eyes or harsh silence.

"Matt, what'd he say?" I asked him when we were on our way to meet up with Steve and Saphira for a quote unquote 'awesome surprise of epic coolness'.

All I got as a response was a bone wary and disappointed sigh. Okay this was getting ridiculous. I was having a good time and I so did not need him to be a buzz kill.

"Are you still mad at me?" I asked to get him going. I already knew he was. Again I got a sigh. Melodramatic much?

"No I'm not mad," he said with forced patience like he was dealing with a kid. It also sounded like he was doing me the huge favor of finally doing what everyone else had done weeks ago.

"Well you seem mad," I pressed.

"I'm not mad," he assured, "I just…I just think that we need to be more careful now, you know? We can't- we have to think a little bit more. We can't just do things. We have to think first."

Oh that's rich coming from the guy that kills his thinking with pot smoke. I'm okay with thinking, but there is a drawback; over thinking. Picking, nagging, and pestering an idea still the right moments gone and we get stuck in an even bigger problem. But Matt with his 'I- believe-I'm-always-right-and-know-eveything-becaus e-I-can-quote-the-great-philosphers-at-the-drop-of -a-hat' attitude would never see it like that. That's why Saphira scared him with her wild ideas and mannerisms. It was a little rough but it stuck. I am by no means scary and still don't have a fully formed bone to stand up to Matt's bullshit, so I just agreed with him then came back with a comeback.

One of these days I'd come out of my shell and stand up to those that pushed me down with their negativity.

"Why are Steve and Saphira out in the boonies?" I asked. "Steve?" Matt called.

"Their car and motorcycle are right there," I pointed out, meaning they had to be around somewhere. Hopefully this didn't turn into a cliché slasher flick.

"Steve, where you at?!" Matt's phone went off, signaling a text.

"Look up?" he read confused. We did.

"Hello boys," Steve greeted smugly. "Helllloo," Saphira sang beside him_ in the air_!

"_**What?!**_" No freaking way. No, there were not, they were not. "You're flying!"

"Hear me out, hear me out. It's much easier than it looks. I swear," Steve assured. "Soooo easy," Saphira agreed, doing the backstroke. Matt looked as amazed and excited as I felt.

"Make sure you catch yourself and don't try and jump. You'll flip yourself or something." Steve warned seriously. Guessing he had a bad time after trying that himself. "I got it, got it." Matt waved him off.

"Come on Matt." I called out half in encouragement, half chiding at his brushing off advice from someone who had a better handle on something that he had never even tried.

"He was going to eat dirt in a big way for sure," Saphira observed hovering beside me. "No argument there!" I agreed, trying not to crack a grin from seeing Matt come crashing down in my minds eye.

Sure enough he got up, paused midair then lost confidence and smacked down into the ground with a cry of 'oh shit!' while a dust cloud formed over him.

We all let out a loud laugh at his epic fail.  
>"Eating dirt," I chuckled, coming near him to see if he was okay. He waved me off. "Stay behind me, you'll get in my way." he groused. "What do you mean I was in your way?" I laughed in disbelief. "Looks more like the ground is in his way," Steve said keeping his distance and chuckling to himself."Come on Matt you can do better than that," Saphira said. Though whether she was talking about his flying or his comeback I couldn't tell.<p>

"Think Harrier jet Matt! Harrier jet!"__Steve called out.

This time Matt got up and held it then suddenly back flipped and crashed back down. We all groaned a laugh in sympathy. "Goddamn it!" he shouted in frustration. "How the hell do you do this?" he demanded.

"A dollop of fairy dust. You can rip the tag off a mattress. Drink Wonka's bubbly soda," Saphira listed flying back up to Steve at leisure. "Oh no, no, no. I got it; laugh. I worked wonders for the cast of Mary Poppins."

"We love to laugh, loud and long and clear. We love to laugh so everybody can hear. The more you laugh  
>the more you fill with glee and the more the glee the more we're a merrier we." Steve and Saphira sang, then broke down in a roaring laugh. At this point I decided he was getting too close to her. She herself had said he was a nice guy, but a player. Meaning she wasn't interested, but seeing them so close and familiar with each other made me jealous. Time to fly.<p>

"Hey Matt, hold my camera. I'm gonna give it a try." I said.

Now up to base I forgot my jealousy and got really nervous of looking stupid in front of her. I know she wouldn't care but it mattered to me. Course, Matt wouldn't shut up long enough for me to concentrate to even get up there. "Okay," I shouted exasperated. "Just hold on."

"Is that your focus face?" Matt teased. "Oh my God, dude." I mumbled, wishing he'd just shut up. What if it was, would you shut up? I tried to image dumping all my emotional baggage off, believing that would weigh me down in this as it did in life. Then I thought of the floaty, bubbly feeling I got in my stomach when I remembered Mom singing happy birthday, smiling at me, kissing my forehead.

And more blush inducing, what it would be like to finally kiss Saphira. Would it be soft and sweet, with hint of a tease no matter if it went anywhere or not? Would there be more after the first? Oh if only.

I felt the power coil up in the back of my mind only instead of snapping out like a shot it released slowly, inch by inch, gently. Next I thing I knew my feet were _off the ground_! The minute that followed was a mess of cheers, encouragement, and disbelief as I got higher and higher until I was level with Steve and Saphira. Then I realized I didn't know how to stop.

"Steve! Stop me, stop me, stop me!" He grabbed my hand and kept me from getting any higher. Yes! I was up on the first go and it was awesome! I did half a Rocky pose in victory as my other hand was keeping me steady. Saphira hugged my waist. "That's the way to be awesome." she cheered. I know my face light up like a flashlight was under my face but I was too excited to care.

"I'm coming up," Matt called up, psyched. "I'm bringing the camera, okay?"

"Yeah. Alright." I shouted back, but stood up, as much as I could while floating, so I could be ready to catch my camera when he would inevitability dirt. Sure enough, face plant a le Matt.

I grabbed the camera out of his hands and floated it back up to me. "How do we get down?" I asked, not wanting to of course, but for the record.

"Think about a big piece of cheesecake," Saphira suggested. We just looked at her weird. "What? Think bubbles you fly, think weight you drop."

We stayed up in the air for almost an hour. Matt still firmly on the ground and not getting any higher. Fae and Steve were doing midair par core. I myself was up to 50 back flips. Matt was alternating between cursing, pacing, and trying only go right back to his dirt diet. Finally Saphira huffed and went down. Curious, we followed.

"What?!" Matt snapped. "This is getting sad." she informed him coolly. "I'm trying!" he defended.

She smiled a smile that promised a heart attack. With that she locked Matt in a full nelson and launched up 80 feet in the air, then _dropped_ him. Steve and I did nothing; the shock of it all froze us where we stood….ahem,floated.

Five feet from the ground Matt luckily froze then started inching his way up. Once he realized that he wasn't dead and was finally flying with the rest of us, he let out a loud triumphant cackle and fist pumped, wobbling a little from the abrupt movement but stayed balanced .

"Thought the good old mama bird approach would work on you." Saphira said **teasingly** . If it hadn't we'd be piling him off the dirt he had spent eating, but hey Matt was up in the air, finally. Let's hope not everything else take's a 80 foot drop to get, not a big fan of the game chicken.

"We're definitely doing that again!" Matt announced unnecessarily, when it got too dark out to keep going. "Yeah, man. With enough practice we could go anywhere we wanted. Make summer vacation a hell of a lot more fun without airport security." Steve agreed. "Go wherever you want but take a heavy winter coat." Saphira said. "Why?" Matt asked. "Have you not seen Iron Man? The higher you go the colder it gets, the icing problem? Keep up Matty." she smiled.

The sound of the wind whipping past my head cut off almost all outside noise. Ahead Matt was flying with the ease of Superman. "Hey Matt, you're finally good at something." I shouted to him. To anyone else it would have sounded harsh and rude, but in our group where Saphira and I lead the charge with Steve being close behind, Matt struggled with every little thing. His response of it being so easy was almost lost in the air.

After the forced drop, which now seemed obvious that a 'philosopher' like Matt would benefit a natural approach, Matt took to it like a bird. Pun intended. He had of course been furious atSaphira afterwards for all of two seconds, then he was flying with the rest of us.

But all that didn't matter, nothing mattered up here. It was just the air, the clouds, and colors of the sky as it flew past us four crazy misfits. We left all our problems down on the ground; parents' divorce, drugs, uncles, and drunken irate father's. None of it touched us up here; we flew too high for them. And it wasn't hard to come back down, because we knew we could always come back up when the water got too deep for our taste's. As soon as school let out we were gone and took to the sky, away from peering eye's of course. Saphira and Steve had serenaded our first two hours of flight time with every fly themed song they knew.

One day Steve thought it'd be a good idea to take a break from the games of tag and screaming like idiots while doing spins and flips, and play…_football_. Saphira made a comment about how there was no more of a male idea then to be able to actually fly like a superhero and still bring a football; the essence of male thinking in its finest. We agreed, but still did it. We are guys after all.

I sat out not because I couldn't play, I could you know, in-between being the target of human sized boulders, it just wasn't my thing. So I sat back and watched the first game of midair football. Saphira sat next to me in a recline position in her usual model outfits. This one a Russian style winter coat that was royal blue with gray and white fur on the collar, cuffs, and trim and the hat to match, Russians would spill their Vodka if they saw her, and that's saying something!

Playing football up here was a lot easier than you would think, especially when the threat of hitting the ground too hard or running out of room is gone. Saphira had been humming Rhapsody in Blue with her I-Pod, then sat up straight and took off her headphones. "You hear something?" she asked, still looking around. Her gaze less focused than usual.

It was muffled but there a definite rumbling sound. "Hey, Matt. What is that?" I shouted. My answer came in the form of the only other thing besides us that came up this high. **PLANES!**

Our happy carefree moment was over as we scattered to avoid the big metal behemoth. Looking back, Steve had either fainted in fright or lost the confidence to stay in flight beside he dropping back down fast and it didn't look like he'd stop himself in time.

In that moment I had one clear distinct thought thatwas entirely my own and yet someone else's GET HIM!

After that it was like a heavy fog fell in my mind making my thoughts sluggish yet, at the same time, as rapid fire as a machine gun. What I was doing came to me in flashes like a broken old time film strip; letting go of the camera, diving after Steve, grabbing an awake yet dazed Steve, then snatching the camera back. Then it was like the power cut off and we fell, controlled but without the usual protection that came with it on full blast. We hit the ground not hard _hard_ but enough to knock what wind we had out. I came back completely exhausted. I was so tired I could sleep right there on the ground if it weren't for the fact I was too winded to relax. Beside me, Steve was up and muttering to himself about almost dying. "Oh shit. Almost died, dude. Holy shit. Holy shit. Almost died, man!" yes, I know, I was there and was the one that saved your ass.

"Almost…Andrew, you saved my life!" he shouted in my face happily. Next thing I know I'm up and being swung around by a very happy Steve, more so than his usual happy self.Dying makes a person very huggy. "Oh my God, you saved my life," he chuckled and screamed. Then he dropped me back on the ground and began kissing my face. 'Okay, okay," I chuckled pushing him off. I was glad he was alive but this was too much. "Holy shit. Is that the camera?" he asked. I nodded. "You saved me and the camera?! Please tell me you got that on tape!" Steve broke off as Saphira joined us. She landed lightly then ran the rest of the way to us without a hitch. "Are you alright!?" she asked concern obvious in her voice and face.

Steve whooped and jumped around like the knucklehead he was before he hauled Saphira over his shoulder and spun her around too. "Down, Shrek, Down!" she laughed. He let her go and continued his hyper jumping.

"You're bleeding," she stated and started fussing. "That was completely stupid, you idiot!" she growled and punched my arm. "But it was also really brave and wicked awesome of you. You tend tohave a hero problem."

"Yeah, but I might cut back. Next time Steve might marry me." I joked. "Shoot he'd do it now." she laughed. "Probably, he already attacked my face." our laughter doubled when Matt face planted in the ground and was promptly hug tackled by Steve.

"We're alive!" he laughed. "What the hell happend?" Matt asked. "You didn't see what happened? Andrew! Andrew! You're a genius!" he cheered, trapping me in a hug again. "Oh God! We're on the ground. Yes!" he shouted before sprawling out onthe ground.

I picked my camera back up and turned in time for Steve to stop hugging everybody and launched into a rant. "We have broken history! I mean, I'm talking about the caveman times, uh, uh the Egyptians, the Wright Brothers." he chattered, ticking them off on his fingers.

"Come here, Matt. Come here. You too, girl. Get in here! Say it. Say I can fly." he instructed beaming. "I can fly." Matt said, flat and bland. "No man, with feeling! Like that guy in Platoon. Say it with your gut and soul. I! CAN! FLY!" Saphira roared. "I can fly! Say it with your chest. I can fly! Shout it out!" Steve shouted. "I CAN FLY! I CAN FLY! I CAN FLY!" matt screamed. "We're a hot mess now bitches!" Steve cheered pumping his fist.

We went back to Steve's after we calmed down. "I tried to save you man. Andrew was just quicker." Matt said. "You give that excuse to your dates?" Saphira asked. "Ouch! That ain't true since this whole power thing, sex's been beyond mind blowing." Steve bragged. "You can use this during sex?" Matt asked, interested. 'How does she not notice?"

"I mean, come on let's be serious." Steve scoffed and visibly see him slip into the swagger jock, "She's definitely going to notice that's its gotten better. But you gotta be…subtle," he said with a gesture and a leer. I laughed because I'm a sex deprived angsty teenage male. Matt sighed and fell back on Steve's bad.

"Uh, dude. I haven't had sex since summer," he whined. At least he had had sex.

"I haven't had sex since ever." I grumped. "Oh really?" Matt asked not that surprised. Smug jerk.

"That is completely unacceptable!" Steve said disbelief. "How are you guys so cool?"

"Liquid nitrogen." Matt stated like there was no doubt. I wonder if lack of sex made Matt stupider seemed like a solid theory. Saphira had leaned out the window and groaned in exasperation. "God, gotta air out the testosterone."

"What about you?" Matt asked. Oh please tell me he is not that stupid.

"What about me?" she asked, still out.

"You get any with all that attitude?"

Steve looked over at Andrew while pointing at Matt, gesturing that he had just hung himself.

She came back and gave him a look that was highly amused and cunning. "I'm vanilla, Matty. Well…French."

"Meaning?' Matt asked now scared of the answer like he usually was when he decided to go head to head. "Meaning in reality, I don't get any until there's a huge hunch of ice on this finger. But in my dream it's always with BBC's finest and Lord are they fine." she grinned. "Besides my dad would kill the poor bastard that tried."

Steve's phone went off. "Hey dad. Just a few friends. Everything okay? O-okay, yeah. Sure."

"Everything alright?" Matt asked. "We need to go. My parents are coming and want the house to themselves. I hate it when they fight," he sighed sadly.

"We don't know that they will." Matt assured.

"Yeah for all we know they might be on the verge of a Mr. and Mrs. Smith moment." Saphira said. Steve chuckled. "Come on big guy. I'll take ya to my place and fill ya full of pizza, soda, and video games."

We landed in front of what we thought would be a house, but turned out to be a legit mansion.

"You live here?" Matt asked in awe. "No, we're gonna break into some strangers place." Saphira said rolling her eyes. "Welcome to Case de Spector."

The place was done up so it was not noticeably expensive but was still eye-popping. There was no big chandelier or obscene amount of white, glass or dark wood. The place was designed and decorated to look like the jazz era, full of flowers and warm colors. It was like walking into The GreatGatsby's house.

"You boys wanna see the rest of the place or are you good with the foyer?" Saphira called from the top of the stairs.

"Hold up I need some light." she said, grabbing a remote by the door and pointing it into the darkness.

First thing I thought was, blue and huge. The room had blue walls with a pattern in it that made it look cave like. There was a huge bed with a net canopy over it. Fog glass basins around the room boiled up and cast their lights on the walls making them shimmer. Plasma TV with the full hook up surrounded by DVDs. Computer beside a pile of fluffy pillow's and a bookcase crammed with books in one corner. In the other was a blue box.

"What's that?" Matt asked.

"That's my TARDIS," she answered so excited and was glowing with it. "From Doctor Who BBC and like the original." she opened the door and went in, "It's bigger on the inside." she yelled. The box was in front of the door to her closet well warehouse. It was huge and full of every type of clothes and outfits you could think of. She rushed back out wearing a large military coat practically buzzing with energy. "Lookie, lookie!" She flipped a panel and pushed a red button, the top of light of the TARDIS lit up and made this odd whirling wheezing sound. "That is brilliant." she gushed in an accent. "What's the big deal?' Matt asked.

"Course a Yank like you doesn't get it." she scoffed. "You're one too." he defended. "And I regret it every minute. BBC is by which all TV is rated. In every show and every episode of those shows it is beyond awesome. With the character depth, the places, ad banter, oh the banter. Never can it be said the Brit's aren't smart or funny. They draw you in with these amazing characters and turn you into a raging fan girl or fan boy. Helps that they get the hottest guys to play their leads, then kill them off and make you depressed for days on end. It sucks but it's beautiful."

Thus began every living guys nightmare; a crying woman. We can't handle that, ever. It scares the crap out of us and there's never a quick fix which scares us more.

"You'd think we'd learn. They killed the hottest, nicest, no sparkling vampire, made the tenth doctor and John Watson cry, and fucking destroyed the greatest gay couple ever." She was really crying now. "Aw damn it, Matt, you asshole." She blindly pushed at him and tried to stop crying.

Then a shadow fell over us.

Charlie stood over us in full on lawyer out for blood mood in the sharpest suit in existence and was focused solely on Matt. So this is how my cousin will die.

"Question.' he rumbled calm and chill to the bone. "Why is my daughter crying and why is she blaming you?"

Matt looked like he would pass out and prove the theory of spontaneous combustion.

"I'm fine, dad!" she assured still teary.

"Allow me to define fine. 'Fine' is not my daughter crying." he stated.

"It is. I was explaining BBC and you know how that goes." "All too well. Love the coat, sir." he drawled. "Look good in a suit yourself, Jones, Ianto Jones." she laughed. "BBC humor."

"Will the Yanks be staying over?" he inquired. "Up to them, we were just looking for a place to loiter," She shrugged. "Hmm, alright if you want food then I trust you know how the phone works."

"You okay?" she asked. "Oh just plotting to kill your uncle, again." he said , sighing and then left. "That idiot." she huffed. "You guys set up Guitar Hero, I'll get pizza."

"Weird ass family." Matt commented. "Her dad was scary, man." Steve mumbled.

I wasn't even listening to them, I was more worried about Fae. She had been really concerned with her uncle the past couple of weeks. His firm kicked some jerk out and now he was trying to take them down and her uncle was as good as her dad, only with more of a temper. And so far it was not going well at all. I heard her arguing on the phone with someone in the hall.

"Remind me how you graduated Harvard law, because not one thing out of your mouth is Harvard material. However it is very good for gardens. I don't care how bad it is Harvey. You don't degrade and bite the heads off of the spare few people left to help you fight the bastard off. It will just make even easier for him to finish you off."

"Don't you dare start with what Mike did. The poor guy has had enough to deal with and is only find something usable in the shit storm that is his life now. Oh really, lets recap, in the last year his has lost his only friend, broke up with two girlfriends, got beaten up, and buried his Grandma. While all that went on he had to navigate yours, Louis', Jessica's and Daniel's rules. And couldn't tell anyone anything that was happening because its south of legal."

"He can only talk to you, who suck at this and Donna who's still sore from you know what. My God Harvey even Louis dropped the rat act to care for him after he got beat up and his Gram. You need to focus on the big picture which shockingly is not you. It's making sure you still have a firm to put your name on. If you lose this you lose not only the firm but Donna, Mike, even Louis, and my respect!"

There was a long pause then… "I think the commissioner would rather you with no job and all your friends then the suits that dropped them all to win. Kick his ass or I'll come down there myself and show you Harvard goons what a Seattle high school degree can do. And I want a very surprised and happy text from Mike in the hour. Love you, bye. Oh God."

"Cross lawyer off your list of careers it just gives you all involved a headache." she called. "Or I could just not be in your family." I countered. She breathed a laugh. "Yeah that works to. He hasn't been the same since he missed saying goodbye to Grandpa. I can't imagine the pressure over there on him but damn it he needs friends more then he needs his name on the wall."

"He'll get it right. He's related to you. And if DNA fails, you and Charlie can go down there and scare the hell out of everybody."

"The green! Press the green. Press the green and flip the switch at the same time!" Steve stressed to Matt to try and get him actually complete a song. I thought pot made musicians better, worked with the Beatles. "This thing is stupid." Matt grumped as the scene flashed his failure. "Yeah Matt, the game is stupid because you can't hit buttons at the right time." Saphira teased.

"They do say that pot knocks your reflexes down a few." Steve said trying not to laugh "Shut up, Steve!" Matt said, a bit agitated. You try, Saphira." he said and she just smiled, grabbed the controller and set it to expert.

"Rock you like a hurricane, that has like the longest solo." Steve commented. "I know." she said, grinning.

Her fingers flow across the buttons, hitting every one when they showed up on screen. "Damn girl, that's awesome!" Steve cheered. "You ain't seen anything yet!"" she grinned ,then took the guitar off and let it go just as the solo came. And guitar kept on playing perfectly. Holy shit!

"Yes, yes, I know. I have way too much free time." Saphira laughed. After the song, the results showed she got a perfect on the entire song, though not a high score cause the board was just filled with her name, Was there anything she wasn't good at?

That night we bounded over ten pizzas, a pool full of soda, and played so many video games until our eyes hurt. Matt had even opened up and said he couldn't think of a better day then this one, and we all agreed. It was for me especially, when Saphira rolled over at same time in the night. And I woke up to her on my chest again. Yeah it really was the perfect day.

"Hey guys, I got news." she announced as she joined us in the library. "I talked to my dad and he said he would pay us to take world trip this summer."

"No way, seriously?" Steve asked amazed. "Yes sir, everything. Hotel, food, and cool shit we like. All he asks is that we drop by my moms and haunt the house and get it on tape." she assured.

"Okay then, in that case, say what you want but I'm thinking of booking it at the Maui for a weekend. What's up with that?" Steve said.

"Well we could do it. I mean I was thinking the same thing, except I've always wanted to go to Tibet." I confessed. "Why Tibet?' Matt asked like I could not have said anything stupider. Steve was surprised but interested.

"Yeah. I don't know. It seems really beautiful, you know with all the-" I broke off because Matt began chanting in a very annoying way that grated my nerves. "Will you shut up?" I hissed and slapped a hand over his mouth. I was so sick of him making fun of me and the things that meant something to me. "The monuments and the mountains, you know? I don't know. And the monks have achieved such a high level of enlightenment that they can like, float and shit, you know? So we'd fit right in."

"We could really mess with their heads as well." matt joked. That's all anything ever said to him was, a joke. He never takes me seriously and I always break off from what I want because of that. But not any more I want this and I would fight for it.

"Yeah, but, like, seriously, I think we should go. It would be really cool. Peaceful." Like flying only it wouldn't be a temporary balm on an open wound. Going to Tibet, seeing real peace, being as far away from Richard as possible was a dream come true.

"No I think it's a really good idea. I actually would like to go." Matt said sincerely but it still felt like he was mocking me. "I'm down. You down, Steve?"

"What- I- I don't know man. There's no bikini's in Tibet. So I don't know if I'm down with that." he said. At least when he was honest I didn't want to hit him.

"I'll go to any peaceful or sexed up place you want to go, so long as you gentlemen escort a lady through Europe." Saphira said. "Whoa we got a place not a continent." Matt protested. "Yes but dad's putting me in charge of the card so I say we go." she said.

Matt zero, Saphira still way more than Matt.

On top of the world with my best buds and the girl of my dreams with Baskin robins ice cream. Life was good and sweet. I had come a long way since the beginning of the year. But I still had made no more head way with Saphira. I had gotten over wanting to have my past behind me and was now concerned about being clumsy with the physical parts of the relationship. Not that she would tell, but I wouldn't be me if I didn't worry about something.

But back to more positive things, Steve, Fae and I were kicking back of top of a building at the city, just having fun.

"Dude! When did you start doing this?" Steve asked gesturing to my camera that was floating around. I had been doing this for a while now; it was so natural at this point. I was surprised he hadn't noticed before.

"What the camera?" I asked. "Yes the camera." he said half mocking as if I was stupid. It wasn't like when Matt did it**, **it was in a friendly manner which is whyit was easier and nicer to hang with Steve when he dropped the sex driven jock persona. He was my first and best friend.

"Um I don't know. It's been a little while, I guess..."

"See- Oh, I can't do that. I can't do stuff that requires finesse. I tried to type my name out yesterday and I cracked my keyboard in half," Steve cackled. "No, dude. It's really easy. You just- you think that you're holding it."

"See, see, that's what I'm talking about right there. You and Fae are always thinking of new shit we can do man. This is insane!" he praised. I still got embarrassed when someone praised something I did, but it was a feeling I was getting used to since it was happening so much, not that I was complaining. "Yeah, yeah. I guess we are."

It was when Saphira offered to get us a refill did I ask Steve about his parents. It wasn't that I didn't want her there it was just I thought she didn't want to see another kid get hurt by their parents.

"They were actually doing okay but now. I don't know. My mom's almost never home anymore. And my dad just sits around all quiet. He just has nothing to say." he sighed heavily. "Could be worse, but I got you, Fae, and Matt."

"See, it's different, because you've always had friends and people want to talk to you and be around you. I never had any of that. I mean before this I barely even hung out with Matt and he's my cousin!" The reason I could tell this to him and Fae was because when I talked, they got why this upset me. And they listened, really listened to me and what I had to say. "We were close when we were little, but I don't know. In high school, everything changed."

"It might not be so good with your cuz. But you got Fae which more than compensates." Steve said.

"I don't have her," I denied. "I want things to be right. I want my past firmly behind me and forgotten."

"Dude, if you want wait too long for your past to move on you'll miss your future."

That was perfect and insightful advice but a lifetime of having your foot firmly on the brakes you get a deep terror of the gas.

I kicked back and staring at the city, finally focusing on the space needle. Above me Fae was teaching Steve some karate. Looking at it, I remembered a time when Richard was my dad and things didn't need superpowers to have a fun time. "You guys ever been to the Space Needle?" I asked.

"Yep when I was like five." Steve said. 'It's for tourists."

"Doesn't mean it still isn't fun. I went with my Grandpa six years ago and the Sherlock Game, where you watch people and tell what they do, where they're from, etc. he was ridiculously horrible at, it he was nuts. He was a saxophone player. He loved jazz, bet you can tell from my family," Saphira said.

"That would explain why you live in the Great Gatsby's house." I teased. "Well I don't know. I mean- I went, when I was like seven with my dad one time and um I don't know. It was actually a really good day." I trailed off remembering it.

"You remember that?" Steve asked. "Um yeah actually I do." Because was the last good memory had of him that wasn't tainted.

"You know I been meaning to ask you. Winter breaks coming up. You should do the talent show." Steve said.

"No way."

"Why not? It'd be good for you to get out there, you know meet some people, meet some girls…" he smiled, glancing at Fae. I missed her glaring at Steve when he turned back to me. At the time all I thought was he was thinking of was making her jealous for me and I didn't think that would work.

"Dude, I'm not- it's just- I'm just really shy, okay? And I don't- I don't even have any talents, so."

"What are you talking about, you don't have- You have talents." he assured. Another thing I liked about him was that every time I tried to put myself down he acted like I was out of my mind for even thinking it.

"You've got talent." he said looking at my camera meaningfully. Oh no freaking way.

"Oh, dude, no way. No, Matt would freak out."

"Love this plan already." Saphira chuckled.

"Forget Matt." Steve shrugged. I have been trying to do that and it hasn't worked out.

"Okay even if we did forget Matt there's no way I'd do this in front of the school. Knowing me these powers would probably flip out."

"Well what if you had an assistant in a hot dress that the pressure off you." Saphira proposed. "I'd love to help. Besides I want a front row set to everyone's face when you knock em dead."

When she put it that way what could possibly go wrong?

There's it is. Again I am sorry for my long absence like always. Hope you enjoyed and I'm looking forward for the next update. It's very spicy. XDDD


	7. The Turn part 1

Surprise! It hasn't been six months since my last update I surprised you and myself. There are a lot of pov changes but it had to be done to tell the story. Here we go. Enjoy.

_~"The second act is called the turn. The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary."~_

I felt like I was going to throw up…but in a good way, if that were possible.

Mom was hovering and fussing around me like a hummingbird, making up for all the time spent being too tired to move. But Richard still wouldn't let her come tonight, even though the doctor himself was saying she was recovering at a miraculously fast pace, wanting to play it safe.

"You look so handsome." Mom gushed. "Yeah…uh…Steve lent it to me." I said shyly. "Saphira, come here. I want to take someshots with you two together."

She came in dressed in a scarlet corset style top that fanned out in a ruffle layered skirt like rose petals with navy blue trim on the edges. She had her hair off to the side in ringlets with a black feather and black fingerless leather gloves.

Good God I think I swallowed my tongue.

"Alright, how do I look? I feel like the feathers are abit much, makes me look like a cocktail waitress." Saphira asked, twirling the featherswhile walking toward me. "Oh, you two look so good together!" Mom cooed.

"Yaassh, I'm the ultimate accessory." Saphira drawled, wrapping an arm around my waist. "Well?" she inquired. "I…uh…I…uh….you…" I sputtered.

"You've broken my son." Mom accused gently. "Whoops." Saphira giggled. "You guys look very good together. Quite complimentary." Mom teased.

"Mom, please." I begged.

"Oh come on, let your momma gush a little. Now if you're going to an after party you call, you got that mister?" Mom instructed. "Yes Mom." I sighed. "And Saphira has a mother's permission to kick your butt should you do something stupid." she added. "Thanks Kare." Saphira cheered at the same time I shouted. "Mom! We're going to be late."

"Okay, okay. You just look so grown up, and you, Fae, look so beautiful." Mom sighed. "Flattery will get you nowhere, but it will get you cupcakes." Saphira teased. "Don't forget the camera; I want Matt to get everything." Mom called.

"Will do. Love ya, bye."

I froze at the bottom of the stairs, Saphira barely stopping from bumping into me. Richard was in his chair, watching TV, like a vulture circling his pray. 'Keep quiet. Make it to the door.' I thought to myself, praying he was too zoned to notice us. "Hey," came a slurring voice from the chair. Shit.

"What?" I asked timidly. "How are you getting to school?" he asked. My heart seized in fear, beside me Saphira shifted to defense. Of all the things I thought he'd say; that was not it at all. He couldn't know. It would be downright amazing if somehow in-between blackout drinking and watching Mom he had the time and the brain cells to notice the strange things going on in my life. "I don't know what you mean." I said.

"Don't bullshit me." he growled. "Matt doesn't come, doesn't drive up, you leave the house. Who the hell is giving you rides to school?" "I do." Saphira answered her voice chill.

"You know what?" he demanded, getting up. "You're lying. Both of you. You're up to something, you can't hide it. You think you can just slink out of this? Sneaking around my house smiling?" he chuckled. "I'm onto your shit." he gloated, revealing in his victory.

"I could warn you the same." Saphira said her face a thundercloud. "Unlike you, I'm not drunk twenty four seven, so that means I think clearly when Andrew comes around with the bruises he gets 'on accident'," she mocked. "What are you saying?" he hissed, stepping into her space. For once I wasn't even scared that he had gotten all dark, Saphira could knock him flat on his ass even before he registered she moved.

"Right now, nothing to your wife. But if I see another bruise or sad look on his face…" she trailed off, smirking evilly. She didn't even wait for him to respond, just took my arm and let us out the door. This was a dangerous woman on my arm. She knew your truths and wasn't afraid to turn them into to daggers and plunge them into your side. It was just fortunate for us lesser beings she used it for good or we'd all be royally fucked.

Palms sweaty, heart ramming against my chest with the nerves of the night to come. Fae, of course, noticed. "You'll be fine, you always are." she assured. "Watch, you'll be such a natural on stage you won't even need me as eye candy."

"I always need you." I blurted out sincerely. I was so focused on not screwing up I didn't she her blush at my words.

(Camera pov)

"Alright CV High, are you ready for a talent show?!" Steve asked the crowd. They responded with enthusiastic applause for their president. "Come on, upper classmen, make some noise, that's not loud enough!" he insisted. "Let's hear it senior class of 2012! Yeah. Shhh…" he shushed. "Okay, I want you guys to give it up for the young and talented….Mr. Andrew Detmer!"

At first the crowd didn't know how to respond to the man that came on stage. Some couldn't remember if he went to the school or not, others who knew him sneered at the idea of him doing anything talented.

"And his lovely assistant, quite the jewel herself, Ms. Saphira Spector." Saphira wasted no thought to strutting out on stage to stand by Andrew, the picture of grace and confidence. The guys in the crowd made their approval known. Steve gestured to Andrew that the floor was his.

And the show was on.

Andrew patted his pockets looking for something, and then started to look panicked when he couldn't find it. Saphira tapped his shoulder and gave him a deck of cards, batting her eyes in an overdramatic fashion. Andrew began to awkwardly shuffle the cards; Steve looking bored already walked by him and quite clearly tripped him up. Cards went flying all over the stage.

Steve, covering up his tracks, threw his arms out in exasperation at Andrew's clumsiness. Saphira, not fooled by him, pouted deeply and put her hands on her hips. Andrew simply shrugged and held his hand out, palm up. The cards lifted off the stage and flew to his hand, back into a deck. The crowd was star-struck. How the hell did that happen?!

For his next trick, Andrew was juggling bright colored balls. Saphira sat up on a table looking alluring, watching Andrew do his trick. Steve offered Andrew a drink of his soda, but Andrew just looked annoyed at the interruption. Steve shrugged but looked happy at his decline. Saphira grinned and hopped off the table and whispered something to Andrew, he nodded.

Saphira snuck up to Steve and grabbed his soda and ran across the stage. Steve, enraged at having his soda swiped, took off after her. At the same time Andrew stopped juggling, but the balls hung in the air until Steve passed them, then they fell down and hit him square in the head. Andrew and the crowd cracked up, while Saphira returned to her perch and took a triumphant sip of the stolen soda.

Steve, nursing a bruised ego, left to get ready for the next trick. Andrew motioned at Saphira to stay where she was. He walked up to her, grabbed the table, and pulled it out from under her. But she stayed in her 'seat'. She hopped off her 'seat' and bowed to the crowd's applause then gesture to Andrew, who bowed in kind.

He pulled back out his deck of cards and flipped the cards out of the deck into a graceful arch to his hand. He then flicked the deck at Saphira and the cards twirled around her like a whirlpool. She plucked all the cards out of the air back into a deck, then flipped a card out like Andrew did at the beginning, then gave him a look that said, 'see-I-can-do-it-too-magic-man.'

Steve had set up a tight rope across the stage and invited Andrew to give it a go. At first Andrew looked very uncertain about making it across. He was very wobbly and jerky. At one point he almost fell off and on his face, but caught himself at the last second. He straightened up then began to causally walk across the rope like it's nothing, even shrugged his shoulder as if to say 'no big deal'. Steve pantomimed Andrew being a show off. Steve tossed his juggling balls at him. He then starts juggling and walking across the rope. He tossed a ball out of the circle and onto his outstretched foot it then fell off onto the rope and followed him across the rope.

While they cleaned up the stage, Andrew enjoys the explosive applause of the crowd. Steve shows off both Saphira and Andrew. They hold hands and bow, then take a bow separately. Andrew revealing in his movement of having everyone's attention on him. It was the crowning moment he always dreamed of.

(Andrew pov)

Saphira's house was lit up in true Gatsby fashion; bodies of teenagers were wondering around, music was blaring across the ground.

"Get in there." Matt said giving me a shove toward the house. "You're the man of the hour."

It was surreal having everyone look at me and not with contempt. Kristi, Steve's girlfriend, practically tackled me to the ground with a welcome hug. Steve wrapped an arm around my shoulders and ushered me in, announcing, "Move aside! VIP coming through!" and went on to say how everyone was waiting for me.

Everyone was losing their shit like this was a Justin Bieber concert, girls flirted, guys fist bumped, and high fived me. And I soaked up every second like a sponge, pretty sure I was glowing from it all.

Inside Charlie had somehow de-aged twelve years and looked closeenough like a fellow teen that no one noticed him taking the car keys of the completely smashed.

"How you feeling?" I asked a dazed Matt on one of the couches. "I'm- I'm feeling great," he answered. "Yeah? You sure? Cause you look really out of it." I laughed.

"Hey!" a girl with pink hair called at me. "I gotta say that was so hot." she praised, swaying a little. "Oh thanks." I replied, still not use to all the compliments I was getting.

"So, uh, do you not remember me at all?" she asked. I didn't hang out with anyone unless bullies and douchebags counted, but something about that hair stuck in my mind. "Monica." She got so excited that I remembered. "Yes! Come on big shot let me get you a drink."

I had always said I would never drink, it was what made Richard the violent, rageful mess he was, but then I also said I would never be this popular and look how that changed. Besides I figured I could always sleep it off here and not do too much damage.

The first sip burned down my throat. After the third or was it the fourth cup, Monica pushed me down on a couch, giggling the whole time as I tried to protect the camera but not really caring.

"Have you ever played that over there?" she asked. I glanced over at the group around a table bouncing Ping-Pong balls into cups. "Uh, no. I have never played 'that over there'." I joked. "No. I bet you're really good at it." she purred into my neck, and stroked my leg. Where I not however many cups in, I would have shied away and blurted out something stupid that would have made her leave, but I was however many in and I really like the attention that people gave me for using my powers.

"So you just throw the ball in the cups?" I asked. "Yep." She nodded. "I-I actually think I could be good at that." I chuckled. "Let's find out."

So I played the game, and despite my foggy mind my powers still worked flawlessly. Monica stayed welded to my side the whole time. Never once did I question why after so many years she was paying attention to me, now that I was famous. Nor did I ask why it was her and not Saphira with me. Not once did it occur to me to think about the girl that before tonight had brightened up every minute of my dark life by just being there, that had showed interest in me even before the powers. I never thought of the girl that had defended me after the truck, had told me her story and understood my pain and threatened Richard, had gotten me a job, and was first person I had ever really thought it possible to have later in my life as my wife. I had horribly forgotten her for the fame of the night.

All I thought about was enjoying every second of attention I had been denied before now. I like to think in the very back of my mind the part not doused in alcohol was asking for Fae, or maybe that's what I say now. That I thought I could try some moves on Monica and see how it worked. But really without Saphira in my sight I forgot her and everything we did together and what I had wanted with her.

The constant flow of booze made sure I wouldn't remember. All I knew was the pleasant haze of laughter and smiles and I loved it.

When I won the game and Monica planted one on me, it felt…like nothing, like kissing a wall. I felt nothing for the wall and nothing for the girl that was my first kiss. That didn't seem right. Hot girl throwing herself at me, I should feel something. But I felt nothing even as I followed her up to a room.

(Matt's pov)

It was like being in an alternate universe. When was I the one on the edge of a party with the camera and Andrew having careless fun? It was also weird to see him without Saphira right beside him. Ever since that night with the rock she was a constant presence near him. And that wasn't a bad thing. I was not her biggest fan but I wasn't so high to not see how good they worked together. Not that either of them did anything about it but whatever.

"Hey Matt," Steve greeted. "Hey man. Hey, you seen Andrew?" I asked.

Steve gave me a proud parent look. "Andrews upstairs with the girl with pink hair," he said. Pink hair? Not Saphira. Oh shit. I may not have been the best cousin to him since I found pot but I would still be sad if he got killed by a vengeful harpy. He had to be beyond drunk to forget his massive crush on her. "No way. Like they went together?"

Steve scoffed. "That's my boy up there. Of course they went up together. He is getting luckyyyyyyyy up there." Steve said rather excitedly I might add.

A vase beside us shattered.

The crowd, too drunk to realize no one had touched the thing, just applauded the sound of shit getting broken.

Saphira stood, face twisted in anger and sadness, glaring at us.

"Oh damn, Fae, I'm sorry," Steve tried to calm her down.

"Don't touch me!" she hissed. "I don't want your sympathy. I must be the biggest idiot there ever was to believe after getting the attention of everyone that ignored him; he'd still be the same. That he'd remember who helped him when he was nobody that I pulled him out of the pit and into the spotlight. That I had been with him through everything. 'Always need you', what bullshit. Well now I know what I'm worth to him." she raged bitterly about herself.

Her eyes narrowed on the camera and ripped it out of my hands so hard and fast, I actually had to count them to make sure they were all there.

"He's filmed everything else in his new life so far, might as well go all the way. Don't follow me or there'll be more magic tonight, the black kind." she warned. The lights dimmed like a power surge. But it was far more terrifying thing that.

I tried to go after her, worried about the unfortunate couple, but Steve dragged me back. "Whoa Matt. She likes him, like really_ likes_ him. That was the point for all this; it was to get his confidence up to tell her. I didn't think he'd go with another girl…" he explained. "Then what was all the pride for him for?" I asked. "I didn't know she was behind me. And anyway I thought he'd be crushing on her so much he wouldn't go through with it."

"I hope you're right."

(Andrew's pov)

I did not feel well. I was the go to guy on feeling like shit but that had been purely emotional up to this point. My head felt like I had poured lead into it. My throat felt swollen and bruised like someone had strangled me. I had nothing to compare with but I was sure this wasn't how a first time was supposed to feel like.

I was shaking so badly like I was having a seizure, my face was hot with blood, and my heart was somehow pounding in my throat yet was dropped down in my stomach. I was swimming in my borrowed suit with sweat. I was finally getting it on with a girl and it felt so wrong.

This wasn't right I wasn't supposed to be doing this to the girl underneath me, but someone else. My mind clear of booze yet clouded with sickness finally remembered Saphira. Her smile, her closeness, her eyes. That's why it felt wrong this was a betrayal, I felt sick…. No I was sick. The feeling in my stomach wasn't going to be pushed away and ignored anymore. It refused to settle, getting more intense. The vomit I had been so sure about all night, now coming out of me and onto Monica.

(Saphira's pov)

Men. There really was no helping them. Primal, basic cavemen the lot of them. You give them a nice girl that would be there for them help them whatever they needed but the minute they see another hot chicky they're kicking up dust.

I have never been this pissed off. It was lucky as hell the rock didn't have gamma rays or I'd have done Hulk be now. I thought Andrew was better than this that his mom would have given him more confidence then have drunken sex with the first girl that saddled to him in new fame.

Then I heard a loud scream coming from one of the guest rooms. Two thoughts crossed my mind. One, they weren't in my room. Thank God for that I'd had seriously fucked shit up if he had the gall to do it in there. And two, I was shave that stupid pink hair of that gold-diggers off the second I got my hands on her.

Btu then said pink hair bitch came storming out of the room (fully clothed) and rushed past me, leaving the strong scent of beer and vomit.

I felt all my anger drain out of me like someone pulled the plug. I had heard fame was fleeting but it hadn't even lasted the night.

Looking in I saw him seated on the edge of the bed his shoulder squared off, the air thick with tension.

"Andrew?" I called. "Leave," he growled. I pushed back a shiver because it didn't even sound like him.

I padded over and barely touched his shoulder when suddenly he was up. And shoved me out of his way. I slammed into the wall, my head connecting with the wall hard. Luckily it just hurt like a bitch but didn't bleed.

Andrew was screaming at the top of his lungs, and I could only set there from the shock he had shoved me.

"I am so sick of all this bullshit. I'm tired of having my teeth kicked so far down my throat I choke on the littlest bit of dignity I've scrambled to have at all. I'm so sick of having these power and still be worth nothing. Be called stupid, pathetic and useless!" he howled. The years of abuse from his father and classmates was all coming out.

"And you. I got beat up in front of you and you did nothing," he snarled. "I told you I worked quietly-" I tried. "At least Matt doesn't pretend to be an asshole and acts like he cares." he bowled over.

"You think I wanted to have to wait? You think I didn't want to walk up to every one of them and punch them out. That I wouldn't tell the whole school to get fucked because of what they did to you. I didn't do all that not because you don't mean anything. I did it because you meant more to me. Because you mattered. And that's what made it scary. As long as I did it quietly I could pretend you knew what I was doing and be happy. I was scared if you knew then you'd say no. but you want reality you want the truth? The truth is I love you, you idiot!" I screamed.

Silence.

"You…you love me?" he asked sounding like the idea was impossible. I nodded. "No, no that can't be right. That makes no sense." he denied. "Why is that so hard to believe?" I asked.

"Because," he gestured at me. "You're you! Smart, beautiful, brave, strong, everything I'm not."

"No you're not. You're caring, sweet, handsome, and tough as hell." I said. From the look on his face he didn't believe me. "You ever watch USA Psych? There was this one where Shawn was going to tell the girl he loved that he did. And he said there were two types of kids when it came to cereal. The kind that flipped the box and went right for the prize, avoiding the adventure. And the kind that waited bowl after bowl till he finally got to the prize. That's how I did it with you. I figured you were already sweet; why not make it even more so. But I waited too long again." I said, feeling tears in the back of my eyes.

He moved closer and helped me up.

"There's actually a third kid, who has never had cereal in his life and can't believe he has that let alone a prize too." he said. "What does he do?" I asked, looking up at him. He grinned. "He enjoys every moment and goes for it."

He kissed me. It was a cross between chaste and passionate. There was something so perfect about the moment of finally being there. We parted when air became a problem, but stayed together with our foreheads touching.

He looked down and started laughing. "What?" I said. "You make me walk on air." he replied. Looking down I saw we had floated of the floor. "The power got away from us." I chuckled. "Is this really happening?" he asked, eyes glinted with that last bit of uncertainty. "It better be, because I'm not letting it go. I'd rather die again."

"It won't come to that. I promise." he assured.

I don't know how long we stayed like that, but finally I let go and asked, "I'm done with the party. Wanna go somewhere else?" "I would but I'm kind of covered in vomit," he blushed. "Lucky you I have a huge closet." I teased.

"Wanna tell me where we're going?' I asked flying with her hand in hand. "Nope." she answered. Then stopped and covered my eyes. "No peeking." she warned. "Okay, open your eyes."

We were hovering over a body of water; it was so still it looked like glass reflecting the stars overhead. Where the sky met the water was hard to tell in the dark, and behind us was a wall of mirrored windows. It was lie we were in outer space.

"Wow. How did you find this place?" I asked. "Flying around." she shrugged. "I like coming here whenever I can. It feels like dancing in the stars."

I took the chance before my confidence left, and offered her my hand. "Dance with me?" "I could never say no to you." she smiled, taking it. I never danced but I could sway.

Having her here in my arms was like surrender. I finally dropped everything that made me hesitate. Richard, mom, Matt, school. Everything that had meant so much three hours ago were so far away now. I had the girl of my dreams, who loved me and I loved back. I was dancing with her, the simplest of things surrounded by millions of stars. It was so romantic, so beautiful, and something I never thought I'd experience, but would never part with. With her I felt like I was finally home. That I was finally at peace.

"_The End" _

_~These are the words I desperately wish I could type. Oh I would give anything to say the story ends here. But alas, my mission is not to weave happy endings where they do not occur, but report the actual events. And as much as it pains me, I must confess that their troubles had only just begun. ~ Lemony Snicket_

Over the next few weeks I got really used to the calm content feeling my life had been taking on. I didn't feel like I was on borrowed time anymore. Mom didn't look like I'd be losing her the next minute, Richard was scared by Fae's threat to tell Mom, and Saphira was my girlfriend finally.

After the mess that was the party, I apologized for having shoved her so much she had to kiss me quiet. Rather liked that tactic.

Going to school on Monday wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Word had spread of my failed attempt at sex. As a result everyone was making reacting sounds at me.

Wayne had nabbed me out science. "You know Andrew most guys have a problem getting it up, but I've never heard of someone having a problem keeping it down." He and his group roared like it was the funniest thing ever said.

"Andrew, hey. There you are baby, thanks for waiting." Saphira cooed, pecking my check. I smiled at her, laying it on thick for the rest of the hall, who had turned to see what was up. "Hey baby, saw you at the show, nice dress. What are you doing with Detmer?" Wayne asked. "He's my boyfriend or didn't you hear? The magician always takes his assistant home." she teased. "Have you heard what he does with girls he takes home?"

"Yeah works magic in more ways with one." she grinned, taking my hand and walked off. It took everything I had not the laugh the whole way.

It was totally irony, all that time spent looking out for the other shoe to drop it never happened. It was only when I stopped looking it dropped like Hiroshima.

One day I was talking with mom when Richard came in, asking me to come help with something in the garage. I felt blood freeze in my veins, that feeling of danger you get right before a car comes blazing around a corner. I couldn't say no in front of Mom because she would ask why, and I could not, would not take her happiness away, no matter how delusional it was.

The sound of the door shutting sounded like canon fire.

"Sit down." he ordered. I did as he said; hoping he'd just yell then let me go. He pulled out my camera and my heart tried to escape my chest.

"I can't believe you were hoarding a five hundred dollar camera while your mom was dying, I don't care if she's not anymore, the fact you did it at all…How selfish can you be!" he shouted at me. I just keep quiet. "I went through your camera."

Oh, fuck. I scrambled to remember what was on it, trying to remember what I had uploaded and erased. Unfortunately I was too panicked to think clearly. "What did you see?" I asked. "Just you being a loser." he sneered. "You think those people are your friends. That that girl is with you for anything but charity? You're just something to put on an application. You have no friends. No one cares about you. You are an embarrassment. You're running around this town spending my money. Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Despite the fact I knew everything he said was a bunch of bull, I still felt my blood boil at what he said about Saphira. "I didn't spend any of your money," I said vehemently. "Because I don't have a dime to spend. Every last cent….look at me! Every last scent goes to school for you and… "

I was tired of him making me his outlet for the stupid shit he did to himself. He got himself injured and fired, he drank himself into oblivion. It was never my fault for anything. Now that I was getting somewhere and he damn well knew it. He figured he could trip me up again so he wouldn't look like the failure he was. No more.

"School?!" I shouted back incredulously.

"Treatment for your mother…. "

"You don't pay for a public school you idiot!"

Silence.

I knew I crossed the line. Fear replaced anger. His face twisted in fiery rage at my rebellion.

"What?!" he said. "What did you just call me, you little shit?!" he roared. Grabbing the table and hurled it behind him, the bottles shattered, books thuddingon the floor. "You're calling me an idiot? HUH?!" the chair I jumped off of to put distance between the two of us followed the table.

Frantically I looked for a way out of here. Suddenly pain exploded in my cheek and I went down hard. Then he was on my screaming abuse, grabbing my shirt and hauling me up to scream in my face. I tried to get away, all rational thoughts was replaced with blind panic. Then I didn't feel scared anymore.

Using my power I took control and forced him across the room and slammed his back into the wall. "I could crush you, damn it!" I growled at him. But it didn't sound a thing like me. Then I threw him clean across the room, where he crashed into a pile of junk. He lay there groaning in pain and writhing with agony. And it felt good that it wasn't me that ended up the mess on the floor.

This didn't seem right. I shouldn't feel happiness at hurting someone. But the power….it wouldn't stop. What was happening to me? I needed to get out of here.

I felt something primal, something deep within me. It was like I had inherited someone else's body. Like I wasn't myself. I felt bigger, stronger. I felt more in control then I ever had in my life. I felt…dangerous.

(Saphira's pov)

"So are you and Drew okay?" Steve asked me. "Oh yeah, we're good. Brilliant, actually. We both found out we were complete idiots that loved each other." I explained. "I'm happy for you guys, and again I'm sorry about the hook-up plan." he said sheepishly. "Oh, no worries. Without you I don't know when we'd have stopped dragging our feet around each other."

"Sooo does that mean I'll be the best man at your wedding?" he teased. "Well, I wouldn't trust Matt to get him to the alter or remember the ring. Or not fill his head up with depressing philosophy on the happiest day his life." I informed him. "So true. My advice would be just stand there, look nice, say two words, and then tell about the honeymoon when he gets back." he chuckled. "Perfect." Andrew was lucky to have such a good friend like this.

Suddenly I got a splitting headache. At first I thought I was having another vision, but then I saw Steve having a similar problem, "You too?" I asked. "Yeah. Weird. I was fine two seconds ago." A cry of pain was ripped out of both of us and this time the pain came with a voice. Andrew's voice, screaming in agony and misery. "Andrew's in trouble!" Steve said through gritted teeth. "Yeah, we gotta get to him and fast. Call Matt, I think it has to do with our powers." I explained just as we each got nosebleeds.

God I felt awful. I was barely able to fly, my head hurt so bad. I tried to ignore it; the pain would just have to take a backseat. Andrew was in trouble and I was going to get to him ASAP. Steve offered to give me a hand, but Andrew was more important. So I sent him ahead. As I was trying to calm the pain with deep breathes, I hear thunder.

Oh shit. This was it, my vision.

Richard, that utter bastard had hit Andrew again and threwhis power into a protective frenzy. It wouldn't be able to tell the difference from friend or foe. It had created the storm I had seen kill Steve. No, no, no! That was not going to happen. I needed to get over there. I needed to get Steve out of there. I needed to be faster than lightening.

(Andrew's pov)

Pressure squeezed my lungs like a vice. I could feel the flow of my blood as it rushed and stampeded through my veins. Darkness feathered my vision. The rest was filled with bright flashes of light that stabbed into my brain like a thousand knives, then left the feeling of needles, then repeated itself.

"Hey. Hey, asshole." Steve called. "Hey what are you doing up here?"

"Just leave me alone Steve." I warned. He could not be up here. I wasn't in control anymore. I had come up here so the power could build up all it wanted and release without it hurting anyone. He needed to leave.

"You can't be up here, dude. This place isn't safe!" he called. "I don't wanna talk to anyone." I told him. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked. "Leave me alone." I repeated. "How did you find me?"

'I don't know man. I was with Fae and our noses started bleeding, we heard your voice in our head or something…. "

Saphira was coming here? No. NO! Fear was the wrong thing to feel in this state. The storm around us got more violent. They needed to get the hell out of here.

"What the hell happened to your face?" Steve demanded. More fear for the storm. I hated talking about what Richard did to me. "Nothing, man. Just leave me alone!" I denied.

"No dude that ain't nothing. Your dad. Your dad beat the shit out of you!" he shouted in concern and anger. Not as much as I beat the shit out of him. "He can't do that to you…"

"Will you stop acting like you give a shit!" I roared. Why did he have to care? It would save his life right now if he acted like Matt.

"Dude…" his voice went quiet. "Why are you talking to me like that? I'm your friend."

"I don't have any friends," I denied using Richards dark, terriblewords from earlier. "You were never my friend before any of this."

"I hang out with you, Fae, and Matt every day!" he shouted in defense. "What about that? We're supposed to fly around the world together, don't you remember that?"

"Stop talking to me!" I screamed. This was only making the storm worse.

"What about Saphira?" he demanded. "You two just got together. She's coming here for you because she cares about you, she always has."

"Just leave me alone, Steve! I'm telling you to get away from me!" I warned.

The throbbing in my temple was becoming unbearable. Pain seared behind my eyes in intense spikes. I could only see in flashes now. As much as I wanted to stop I couldn't think past the pain. I felt furious…powerful…invincible…out of control. My power was in full control of my body. The rage and fear I felt with Richard had melded with the power and took charge of what I never could do myself. And it wouldn't stop. I was barely holding out to it. One more thing was all that was needed to break the control and who knew what would happen with it unleashed.

"_Get away from me now! __**Please! **__**NOW!**_" I howled as I lost my grip on the power and it flared out. Lightning struck out at Steve…

Or where Steve had just been. At the last possible second Saphira had come out of nowhere, literally nowhere. No sound, no moment in the corner of the eye, she was just there shoving Steve and herself out of the way.

"W-w-what the hell man?!" Steve shouted. I had no answer for him. I had almost killed someone, not just anyone, a friend, my only and best. I had lost control again, no I still had control….but the powers control of me was greater. It responded to my mood, my deepest want, to not be weak, to be heard when I talk. It let me have it. I was so disgusted by what I had almost done.

Steve looked beyond terrified. Saphira looked…exhausted? There was not an ounce of fear or shock at what had just happened in her. She looked awful, skin pale and sweaty, nose bleeding none stop. "Drew…" she whispered, before her eyes rounded up in her head and she dropped out of the sky!

It was like Steve and the plane all over again. Only this time when we hit the ground there was no energetic jumping hugging fest. When I put Saphira on the ground, her chest wasn't moving. Putting two fingers on her neck feeling for a pulse only to find there was none.

"No, no, no, no, no! Saphira, Saphira! Come on, wake up!" I yelled, giving a shake. Nothing. "Please, God please. Don't be dead. Come on wake up. You can't leave me, I just got you. Come on, it's not fair. You're the only good thing I've got. Please!" I begged, tears streaming down my face. Still nothing. It was my fault. Richard was right, I was an embarrassment. I wasn't in a relationship a month and not only was it over but I had killed her. I didn't care if I hadn't meant to. It had been my power, my lack of control that had done this. It was my entire fault.

(Saphira's Pov)

It was dark. That was the first thing I knew. The second was I ached all over, laying back when I was testing for my belts. Only now it was every single ache from every test layered over each other. And the third was someone was crying. Deep heavy, agonizing sobs. Barely I realized it was Andrew crying. What happened? Did I get there too late to save Steve? God I hope not. Then I remembered snow. I saw it snowing again. Oh boy.

This sucked. We had finally gotten him in a good place. So much so I was going to ask him when I had him come home with me tonight. Damn that Richard! I was gonna rip that drunken bastards head off. On that thought I should probably wake up.

Opening my eyes felt like pulling back a decade old wallpaper. First thing I saw was his face soaked with tears, his face twisted in despair so raw it twisted a knife in my heart. My arm felt pumped full of lead as I reached up to brush the tears away. At my touch his eyes flew open and stared down at me in shock.

His eyes weren't normal regular blue. They were still those pure, innocent baby blue I was used to looking into, only now they were glowing. Not with like emotion, like someone had lit a flashlight behind them, or that rock that started all this. I hadn't escaped death alone this time, he had pulled me back.

His mom's recovery had made me suspicious, but now here was the proof staring me in the face. I had to tell him and maybe if he knew the better solution to helping his mom he would avoid that awful future I saw for him.

But first I needed to get up and calm Steve the hell down before he exploded, and lifting Andrew of the guilt he no doubt felt for what happened to me. It wasn't his felt, it was mine. That trick of mine worked alright but it was too far way too quick. ******

It was weird I had just died again but it didn't feel like it. I think it would have hit me a hell of a lot harder had Andrew not poured his power into me. As it was, I felt great. Like I could run a marathon.

Steve was freaking out, but I would rather have him harp on the fact I had just been dead instead of him yell at Andrew for almost killing him. This was going to be pure hell to talk to Matt after this. But we'd cross that bridge when we got there. As it was I wanted to get Andrew home and convince him he was in no way responsible for any of the things that happened tonight and thank him for bringing me back.

After the adrenaline started to wear off Steve became too tired to fuzz or argue about trying to get me to a hospital and after the thousandth time of assuring him I was fine, he went home. Turning to Andrew you could see him trying to build his walls up. "You're coming home with me mister!" I informed him firmly. "Tomorrow I'm killing Richard."

"You should kill me, like I almost did to you…" he told me, voice hoarse form crying.

"I'll kill the guy responsible for this whole mess and that's not you. It's your dad. Drew, you were attacked by your dad and you defended yourself, End. Of. Story."

"It wouldn't stop….It saved me from him but it wouldn't stop…."

"I know but I dropped out of the sky, not because of you, but because I pushed my own power too far too quick. I have never lied, certainly not to you or my dad. Look me in the eyes and tell me I'm lying when I say you had nothing to do with my second death." I challenged. He looked, long and hard. Finally he gave me a reluctant nod. So unused to it not being told in some way it was he's fault.

He crushed me in to a hug. I'd take a broken rib if it meant he believed he was innocent. "Good, now again. You're coming home with me."

(Andrew pov)

The trip to her house and up to her room was quiet and calm but as soon as the bedroom door clicked shut she was on me. It was an attack of lips, tongue, and teeth. And God help me if it wasn't the hottest thing I ever felt. She pushed to her bed, when my legs hit the mattress I fall flat on my back. She pulled her shirt off and was back on me again. Now I knew what Wolverine felt with Jean Gray. She ripped my shirt off and grazed my scars with her fingers while she kissed and nipped my neck. All I could do was hold onto her like she was the only ground thing in this thunderstorm of passion and heat. Thunderstorm…I froze up. She had been dead not two hours ago, now she was writhing on top on me.

"Fae I-I can't," I tried to tell her. She ignored me still focused on my neck and doing some very distracting and _so good_ things to me below the belt. "If we don't stop now… we won't ever." Both a warning and a promise. She paused and sat up, straddling my waist. "Don't you wanna?" she askedway too innocent then was possible with the situation. I looked up at her, cheeks flushed, lips slightly swollen, tousled raven hair shone blue in the moonlight, eyes full of love and lust for me. My heart swelled. I took a deep breath, "Hell yes." And took the leap.

There it is. First time with anything that south of the gutter. Two more chappies till the end. Thank you all for holding on.

** does anyone have an idea as to what Saphira did to get there so fast?

Review plzplzplzplzplz.


	8. The Turn pt 2

AN: hello everybody! I Am so sorry I haven't updated but I was graduating from college, YAY! and my editer was starting a new job so timing was a B*tch. But I'm back and it's done. Enjoy ;)

_~Now you're looking for the secret…but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; ~_

I woke up to the warm gentle feel of the sun shining through a curtain. I stretched catlike in a bed that was not mine. Then the events of the yesterday caught up with me.

Did last night really happen? My lack of underwear would say; yes it did the good and the bad. I was still concerned by how much I lost it and then scrambled to try and rein it in, only for it to be useless. But unlike every other time in my life when I would fail or feel so lost, and everyone around me would either leave or I would have no one there anyway, she stayed.

Not that it was much of a surprise that she would, it was the fact that after last night I was shocked by how much she would do, how far she would go to prove and show her absolute love of me. I was still reeling from what we did after we got back to her room, still worried that a few hours ago her heart had stopped and then it was pounding with a beat to the put hummingbird's wings to shame along with my own.

In the afterglow she told me about her extra powers. That she knew about the truck crash and the thunderstorm before they happened and she had been trying to fix it. I got the feeling there was another vision she had had but was reluctant to tell me. I let her keep it to herself.

She then revealed my unconscious involvement in bringing her back tonight, and my hand in my mom's recovery. At first it seemed absurd, that I could heal people but then again so were any of the powers we had grown into the past couple of months. But thinking over it, it sounded so right, and explained a lot actually. Mom always looked so much better after I had spent time with her even before the powers, like I was the reason she held on as long as she had. Then after the powers she began to not only look better to my eye, but down to the cellular level that left the doctors confused but happy for her recovery.

Then with Saphira, that dazed look she had on her face in the car before the crash, and the deadly look she gave Dick before the talent show, like she knew he was the reason that set me up for the storm. Then to top off the bizarrest pillow talk ever she asked me how I'd like for her to handle him. In a moment of sire swagger and confidence I said I didn't know but I knew how she could handle me which lead to round two.

Speaking of Saphira, there she was clicking away at her computer. She had very strong belief and a theory that the rock which had started all this was from Pluto in origin and that was why the government had demoted its planet status. So that it would lose interest if it was just another rock among our millions of stars. I didn't know if her idea was true or not, but it was as good an answer as we were ever going to get.

Feeling my gaze on her back she turned to me with a smile. "Hey lover boy, you might wanna hop into some pants before my dad comes in here," she laughed at the look of horror that flashed across my face. No matter how cool Charlie was with me, no dad was okay with the guy that deflowered his daughter. I was a dead man, well and truly strung up, drawn and quartered, racked, water boarded. Any and every form of torture crossed my mind, there was no limit towhat a pissed off father would do to the poor wrench that sexed up his little girl, and that poor sorry bastard was me.

I was somehow getting lost in my own shirt in a rapid quest to find the head hole when a throat cleared. It was too deep to be Saphira. So this was how I would die after the best and worst night of my life while being outwitted by a shirt.

The head hole was so twisted up from my movements that I could only see out of a small hole and there was Charlie in all his badass lawyer and equally intimidating papa bear glory. Figuring there was nothing I could say in this situation that would save me and also my voice was gone regardless I just crooked my finger into the sheepish, most awkward greeting there ever was.

Instead of completely ripping me to shreds as I imagined he burst out laughing. "Oh God he looks so guilty. How do people stay serious during this?" he asked. Saphira shrugged looking just as amused while I stayed still not moving a muscle in the hopes it would grant me a moment of invisibility.

"As a father, I don't like what went on here last night, but I won't insult my daughter with thinking she didn't have safety involved. If not I want a big rock on her hand and some serious groveling within the week. Now then if the love shack is closed for business I have pancakes downstairs, and Doctor Who on the TV."

"Dad!" Saphira shouted embarrassed, flushing neon pink. I've never heard of a man who gives pancakes to the guy that fooled around with his daughter then again both the dad and daughter could go from the best friend of the universe to burning it all down in a split second so obviously they were out of the norm.

After Charlie left and about seven Doctor Who episodes later, Saphira's phone went off announcing Matt was about to rain on the parade again to the tone of 'Then I Got High'.

"Matt?" I said, amused at her ringtone. "Yep," she responded.

"Ahoy," she greeted enthusiastically into the phone. Matt must have been confused by the greeting and asked. "It's how Bell proposed answering the phone," she explained. "History fact done for the day, whatcha want?"

A deep frown settled over her face. "Sounds serious Matty. You know how I feel about that," she warned. Whatever he said only made the frown deepen and her hand to clench the phone in a death grip. I got the feeling she wished it was his neck. One would think he would stop trying to piss her off, but since it was Matt we are talking about, that apparently is asking a too much. "Oh really? Well, if my master commands me I have no choice but to obey then, huh?"

She snapped the phone off, looking more feed up then I'd ever seen her, but also very determined in whatever she was planning to do next was going to definitely get Matt's attention.

"His Majesty demands our presence." she stated grabbing our coats. "I know he wants to talk about me so why does he want me there?" I asked. "Oh he didn't ask for you, just me, but he should know by now I tell you everything, and if he wants to talk smack about you, he can have the balls to say it to your face."

For a moment I pretended to give it a thought. "Well it would make him mad…so I'm in." Matt was trying to vote me off the island but the tribe hadn't spoken yet.

The school football field was empty save for Matt and Steve, of course. They had somehow managed to stand close together yet look so far apart at the same time. Which meant Steve had told Matt what happened and agreed it should be talked about but didn't agree with how he was going to go about it. I don't know why he wouldn't stand up to him, but would tempt me with the talent show by saying "It'll piss him off." But then again he had come way too close to death last night and I hadn't used any of my healing on him that I knew of, so he might still be in shock. He certainly looked shook up.

Matt, who had already looked annoyed before we touched down now looked raging mad when he saw Saphira had brought me along.

"What's he doing here?!" he demanded, ignoring me like usual.

"He was with me when you called." she explained calmly and coolly.

"With you? After last night?!" he asked eyebrow rising in disbelief.

"Oh yes, he was excellent and satisfactory company." she smirked looking him dead in the eye. I couldn't help but blush at the mental playback her words cause to go through my mind and the complete lack of remorse in saying it out loud to them. Matt looked even more confused while Steve looked one part surprised, the other part proud and happy for us.

"Whatever." Matt said pushing through to stand on his soap box. "I heard about last night, the storm."

"It wasn't like it was a secret." Saphira dismissed. "I was just hoping to get a whole day to go by before you decided to jump down Drew and I's throat like you always do when something '_challenges_' your delusional authority."

"Okay will you just stop for once with the jokes and play-ons? This is serious, you and Steve almost died last night!" Matt raved. "I've died before." she stated back, catching them both off guard. In their stunned silence I saw her mood shift from the causal playfulness that was usually there, to a sly clever huntress. In that moment I knew Matt would get what he wanted, her being serious, and that he was going to seriously regret asking her to.

"What do you mean by-" Matt voice cut off. He tried clearing his throat but not a sound came out of his mouth.

Saphira's smile at his confused expression was as sharp as a knife. "What's wrong Matty? Cat got your tongue? Oh no, wait, I do," she purred darkly. "Biology fact; to speak, your vocal folds or vocal cords need to vibrate but if you stop that from happening …" she trailed off looking pleased as we realized that she had taken his voice. "Now you can't do anything but finally really listen to me because that's all I will let you do."

"You wanted me to be serious, so here it is. When I'm serious I get as cutthroat and out for blood as my dad when he rips to shreds child abusers and rapist in court. We put every horror movie to shame."

"You keep focusing on Andrew, either blowing your lid after he sets a toe so much as an inch out of line or waiting and believing he might do it again. His emotions run deep with his powers, maybe because he was doing some impressive heroics at the time. The only reason last night even happened was because his douchebag of a dad, _your uncle_, hit him again. Yes again!

"While you smoked pot and judged his quiet awkwardness you never saw it wasn't ever his fault. But you never got that through your thick skull did you? No, you had to be the big philosophical man. Well honey, Confucius you ain't. So you don't get to stand in front of me and preach about how you know him so well when the reality is you know nothing. You are so wrapped up worrying over what he _might_ do on accident that you never stop to think about what _I_ could do on purpose.

"I thought a lot after that night with the rock. I studied and practiced as many far-fetched and 'impossible' ideas I could get my hands on and I tried to work them with the powers. I laughed at your little power play at Alpha of this group because you couldn't have possibly pulled that off. Granted, I didn't want the position either but if you're the only one running, it's time for you to wake up and see how bad a leader you actually are, you couldn't even fly right until it was a life or death situation.

"You've harped and bitched over Andrew and in doing that forgot about me. The girl, who from day one has had the powers figured out. Or do you forget what I've done, I knocked Steve's feet out from under him when you found me, I stopped that ball you through at me. I could control your body like my own puppet. You have never been able to tell me what to do because you have no authority to. If this was the pack dynamic you tried to have us follow, you don't even have the power to hold the position. But I do. I've been watching a show called Heroes, know of it?"

She lifted her index finger up and slashed it through the air. A deep groove split into the ground, there was an odd gurgle and a fountain of water came out of it. I thought vaguely that it was a perfect cover up for why the crack was there. But her power show wasn't over.

Small circles of ice began forming in the air around her finger, which she was moving in a circle and they continued to grow until they were the size of golf balls. "Get molecules of a liquid to slow down enough till their attraction to each other causes them to arrange themselves to a fixed position." she stated in an indifferent tone. The ice fell into her hand and she gripped it tight. "I'm not done yet." she grinned and opened her hand again.

_Fire_ sparked and danced on her palm.

"A simple matter of making oxygen molecules move faster." she smiled. The fire flared out in an arch then went out. "Andrew's looking pretty docile right now, ain't he? So Matty, how do you like me when I'm serious, did you enjoy it? You were right when you said to quit the joking attitude, and it's also time to do away with the charade of you telling me what to do when I desperately outmatch you."

Since Saphira still held Matt's voice he could only give her a confused looked. "You're wondering if I was so powerful then why didn't I tell you? Because, beating you into dropping the Judgy von Holier-than-Thou attitude is no way to do things. I would have preferred you grow into being a bigger man that didn't always take the small petty way of doing things, but you couldn't even wait a full day to tear into Andrew over losing it.

"Not everyone is as bonged as you, sometimes you have the shittiest day of your life and the only thing that stops you from beating someone within an inch of their life is screaming till there's no air left. We are all allowed one bad day at least and not have our family be hard-asses when everyone else is vying for the job. I hoped you would rise above the bar like I saw at the after party, but now all I really want from you is for you be a dear…" She smiled sweetly "…and fuck off. The fall from the pedestal you have yourself on would be like a fall from Everest."

Steve looked both impressed and slightly spooked by all Saphira had said and done but at the same time not that surprised. Matt, who got his voice back, was breathing raggedly either from fear or anger I couldn't say. I myself wasn't even miphed that she told them Richard hit me or talked like I wasn't there. In truth, I had seen this verbal beat down coming the moment they met. They would have never been good friends, but they could have passed as nice around each other. Saphira had tried; Matt just couldn't get out of his own way. Finally she had admitted defeat and settled for at least getting his respect, but now she couldn't care what he gave her because she was just tired of being near him.

"Well I've said my piece. Steve, text me if you still wanna hang out. Matthew, call me when you get an attitude that doesn't make me want to set you ablaze." she grinned crookedly, with a glance at me we took to the air.  
>"If I made you upset by ignoring you, reveling your secret, and beating down your cousin, I'm sorry." she murmured, looking very small and nervous not at all like the avenging angel she had been a few minutes ago.<p>

"No don't be sorry, that was the hottest thing I had ever seen. Man the look on his face was just- And those powers- you have to show me how you do that. I always knew you two wouldn't get along and despite him being my cousin, he hasn't acted like family in a long time. So you have nothing to be sorry about. The only thing I'm even remotely mad at you for is winding him up.

"See you can push his buttons and fly off as we are doing now and never have to see him again if you want. I on the other hand have to at the least see him during family events which there may be more of now that moms getting better."

"Well then I'm sorry for making you suffer for the mood I leave him in but would it make it worth it if after he wears you down I make you feel better with a trick that proved very enjoyable and entertaining last night," she smiled coyly, her eyes ablaze like the fire that had been in her hand.

"Don't know, how long does the trick last?" I answered back, sounding more suave and confident than I ever have ever. "Hmm, how about however long you had to deal with Matty, doubled," she purred.

I almost fell out of the sky as my blood scrambled to figure out where it was gonna go. I called it the night I met her. She'd be the death of me…

"I love you," I breathed.

"I love you too," she breathed back.

…but _what_ a way to go.

(Saphira's pov)

It was all my fault.

The future sometimes seems so straight, so sure to some. Other times it twists and turns like a snake. This is why no one with any sense wants to see the future in the present, it has too much power. We always have the free will to choose where you want to go but sometimes Fate has such a strong pull on certain events that no matter what you decide it will dragged right where you want to avoid at all costs.

This was the biggest, worse choice of my life. I choose to go to the gas station. The one I had seen Andrew in front of. Where he would have robbed it for money to help pay for his mom's medicine. The clerk would have taken a shot at him with a shotgun and Andrew would have deflected it to a gas barrel, making the whole lot erupt into flames and send him to the hospital. Richard would have come and threatened him again and Andrew would lose himself to his power. Making Matt come after him and…_kill_ him to make him stop.

But it was fixed. Andrew had more confidence and knew there were people who cared and loved him. His mom was healthy and his dad was so scared of him he wouldn't go near him. He had no reason to want to rob this place. But I wanted to be here, I wanted to reveal in trumping that horrible blood and fire filled future.

I should have known better, shouldn't have gotten cocky. That just because I had saved one boy from a desolate situation didn't mean there weren't others who would be just as desperate for money.

Someone else was robbing the station as we were pulling up. The clerk was out cold on the floor, the robber thrashing through the theft, he didn't see us until he was outside.

I had never been this frozen, even with the rock or the storm, I had a vague handle on my body. Now looking at the future I was trying so hard to avoid stand there in a new form holding a gun at us yelling, I couldn't bring myself to move.

And Andrew, brave, sweet, stupid Andrew chooses now to stand up for something. It was cruel irony. The one time he should have coward and instead stood up for himself. Never think for one second that you have all the answers because that opens you up to universal punishment to smack you back into place.

I had finally unfrozen in time to try and get Andrew away from here, when the robber saw us. His shot went wide but freaked Andrew out enough to push me out of the way with his powers. The added force startled me, and as I tried to right myself to power our way out of this mess. I watched in that horrible slow motion sense when you watch the terrible thing happen and can't do a damn thing to stop it.

I watched the robber line up a shot at Andrew, who flitted it aside and right into the gas tank igniting it.

"ANDREW!" I roared, making a barrier to protect myself as the world went up in flames.

The next hour was a blur of panicked ambulance rides, a medical once over, and staring seamlessly into the white void of a waiting room. After a screeching call to 911 I damaged the gas station camera so there was no evidence of Andrew's do away with the gun. The cops were more then satisfied with my mumbled explanation of events; getting gas for the bike, saw the robber leaving, when we took cover his shot went wide and hit the tank. They didn't stay long after that, lack of conscious witnesses to tell over wise.

Both the cops and hospital staff left me alone. No one would tell me about Andrew unless family was there, I stressed that they made sure to tell his mom after giving them the number. If the gas station had to happen then Richard was sure as hell not stepping foot in this hospital to be near Andrew, whether or not his mom was okay now.

"Saphira!" a voice cut through the white fog I had fallen in. I looked up to see my dad and Steve running over, looks of concern plastered on their faces.

"What happened? Are you alright? How's Andrew?" my dad rattled off, his lawyer voice creeping in.

"They won't tell me anything because I'm not related," I muttered bitterly, give it a year or two that would change. "This is where being a lawyer comes in handy. Excuse me, Miss?" he asked, catching a passing nurse. "I need an update on Andrew Detmer, insurance reasons."

"Yes sir, I can get that for you, or you can ask his dad when he comes out, he-"

"You left him with his dad?!" I yelled horrified. Why, why couldn't anything from this night be avoided? First the gas station now his father was with him screaming no doubt negative abusive shit at him. Oh please don't let Matt get to him, if nothing else just not that.

With that the hospital was rocked with an explosion.

(Few minutes ago)

A kind nurse had just let in the patient's father. He looked very upset, no doubt from the news of his sons injuries, but he would be alright in time. She left him to his son.

The man was struggling to hold back his tears, but still a few broke free. He took a seat by the bed and sniffed back his tears.

"Your mother is kicking me out," the man said. "I got home from drinking and she came down and said it wasn't good for my health or good for you to see me drunk. And I was just so mad I told her she didn't know anything, that while I had to take care of everything and she was laid up, I did it all the time and that I had to deal with you stupid selfish shit. She through everything she could grab at me and said if I didn't leave she was calling the cops and locked herself in her room.

"And then the phone rang telling me you had gotten yourself landed here. How is it you do all the wrong and stupid things and I get nothing for all I do. I was always there for her, when you were out screwing around. Even when I had no job, when money was hard, and dealing with her treatments. Now she sees the drinking and what I did during to coop and it's like none of that matters at all.

"She needed me and you just waltzed in and you took her away from me! I want you to apologize to me. I know you can hear me, so I want you to sit up right now and apologize to me! You selfish, selfish asshole!" the man was so caught up in his rage at the poor boy in the bed he didn't notice how everything in the room started to vibrate and get stronger with each word of abuse thrown at the boy.

"This is your fault! You did this! It's always your fault, because you can't do anything. You're weak and useless! You ruin everything and it's your fault!" the man yelled as he move his hand to hit the boy only to have him grab it and then the energy that had been building up in the room exploded out.

(Matt's pov~ at his house)

Alright my little bro was 12. He is gonna get into trouble when he's older that's for sure. A lot had changed in a year; the powers, the gang, getting a girlfriend.

"Oh my God, Matt!" Speaking of the girlfriend.

I looked over at Casey when the panic in her voice registered. "Matt, your nose again," she said.

I brought a hand to my nose and realized my face was red and sticky just as it started up real good, like someone stabbed through a water pipe.

Casey followed me to the kitchen more concerned as she noticed the trail of blood I was leaving behind on the floor. Then the screaming started, like the night of the thunder storm , only this time it was louder, more intense. So much so I thought that now even people without powers could hear it. But no one did, it was a siren call only to those that had been near the rock and was used when one of us was in big life altering trouble; Andrew.

My mom was calling us into the living room frantic about something on TV that had everyone's attention. A possible bomb had gone off at a hospital. Once I saw the smoke I knew where I needed to go. I gestured to Casey to give me the keys to her car. I couldn't fly with all the interference. I tried to calm her down as I was sure nothing I was saying even came close to making sense, but time was short.

She wouldn't be left behind despite being unsure of my reasons. Whether or not she believed me, Andrew needed me, all of us. The others were no doubt on their way.

We had to turn back and go another way because of a roadblock but we made it. The block was lit up with lights from the cop cars, ambulances and crowded with people all wondering what was happening. For a brief moment I thought this wasn't what I thought it was, that maybe it was just a bomb threat and not a repeat of the truck or the storm.

That small hope was crushed as an odd shape emerged from the smoke still billowing out to the hole in the wall. The shape was two people in mid-air, one in a hospital gown the other flailing about in the others grasp, begging to be let go of. The one in the gown was yelling at the panicked one that they made them do it. Then he _dropped_ him.

I didn't think about it, not for a second. Before the horrified screams could even start, I shot up to the falling man. I gave a push with my powers to slow him down so that when I caught him under his armpits I didn't break anything on him or me by the dime stop I gave him. When I touched down the man flopped to the ground, I realized the man was my uncle Richard.

So Andrew had been behind this but then so was Richard. As harsh as I was to Andrew I knew he never did anything hurtful himself unless he was backed into a corner. I also knew that Richard had hurt him again and Andrew's power had reached out and tried to fuck him up and took a good chunk of hospital to do it.

I needed to find the others and together talk Andrew down but first I needed to get Andrew away from the crowd, to avoid the cops and questions.

Yelling for Casey's attention we fled to the car to and peeled out. I scrambled to explain what was happening but it came out all wrong. Then up ahead a helicopter began to spin out of control then veer off even more unnaturally and slammed down in front of us, dissolving into a pile of flaming hot metal. No way had that been pilot failure, it was too controlled in its chaos.

Panic and terror had barely set in before a cop appeared at Casey's window, warning us to leave the area when he was thrown backwards like a fish hook had caught the back of his belt and reeled him in.

I didn't have time to worry over whether or not he was okay because our car rattled and lifted off the ground. Despite the love of flying we all had with our powers, being forced to fly though the air in a potential metal death trap with an equally panicked girlfriend and the fact that your own powers are useless to gain control was indescribably horrifying.

It got even worse as we careened toward the Space Needle and then came a moment like when you're at the top of a rollercoaster about to drop over the top and then you drop only the track is gone. The car didn't fall apart on impact, but you know small miracles, if you can call being stuck on the top of the Space Needle and the car you're trapped in is wobbling and threatening to go over the edge a miracle.

The Needles lights fizzled and popped out only to have the cars headlights kick on revealing the man behind the chaos and terror of the night; Andrew. He loomed just out of sight of the high beams.

Suddenly the windshield shattered and the frame was ripped out. Then in an even more horrifying moment Andrew pulled me from the car as it finally tipped over the side. I watched the car fall to the ground with Casey still in it. I finally managed to get my thoughts together to remember how to use my powers and shot down after the freefalling car. I landed with a thud on the hood and lifted her out and held her close as the car crashed into a fiery pancake on the ground below.

Figuring/ hoping the others weren't too far behind and that this needed to be stop now, before it got worse and as the increasing acts proved it could. If the moment wasn't so intense I would have reveled in the Superman vibe of it all. Flying my Lois Lane out of danger and going off to save the city only I didn't. There was no keeping this a secret now, people on the ground were running about in panic, helicopters were circling the sky and the people in the Needle were watching rapt through their phones.

I tried to be quite and calm when I got close to him but I had barely touched his shoulder before he whipped around and flung me away, then turned back and shattered the Needles glass inciting panic within and pulled the cameras out and floated them through the air.

"Andrew?! Andrew, look at me!" I pleaded. "This has to stop, right now okay? This is really, really, bad."

"Why did you catch him?!" he screamed.

I knew I had screwed up when I caught him, the man had abused and beat his son, my cousin but killing him wasn't the answer. Saphira's dad was a kickass lawyer; he could throw him in jail with minimal effort. But how to convince Andrew of that when he felt justified in making the man responsible feel every bit as dead and powerless inside as he made him.

"Listen, just focus okay?" I tried again.

"I _dropped_ him! Why did you _catch_ him?!" he demanded.

"Andrew, this is not a game, you understand? You're hurting people. Listen, Andrew, I just need you to listen for a second."

"Don't tell me what to do," he raged.

"They can't stop us. It's not too late for us to go."

"It is too late. It's over. You treated me like _shit_. You left me _alone_!" he raged, years of unexpressed emotions coming out at once.

I knew I was shitty cousins for what I did or rather what I didn't do. Leaving him for girls and drugs while he dealt with his dad's abuse and his mom's cancer all by himself, but I knew now and I wanted to help. He just had to believe I was serious.

"You're not along anymore. I'm here with you. Steven and Saphira are coming. We'll help you. Andrew I'm sorry. I should have been there for you all along. But I'm here now and we can stop this right now. You and me, we can start over and get it right. Andrew, we can just fly away. We can get out of here. You can have a life with Fae. We can be a family. Andrew, Andrew look at yourself. This isn't who you are. You're better than this. Fae always knew it, Steve knows it. And I finally got my head out of my ass to see it."

"Till something better comes along. It's always the same with you, Matt. You act like you give a damn until something else comes and you leave. You always leave! No! I am not falling for it again. You think that just because you know now what Richard did to me changes anything? That because you know he beat me till I bled and couldn't move makes up for all the times it was happening and you were every bit as hurtful as him, when you left me. It doesn't matter what you think or say now. I don't believe you, so do what you do best and leave me alone." He voiced was void of emotion and breaking from it at the same time. His face was blank despite his rage that dripped from his words.

A loud honk sounded over my shoulder, I turned in time to see a city bus come charging into me. The impact matched the pain of my stomach that had hollowed out with each of Andrew's venom coated words.

(At the hospital)

My ears popped, bringing the previously muffled sounds of chaos up to full earsplitting volume. The blast had shaken everyone and everything up something awful. Pieces of the ceiling had come loose and hit a few people in the head, knocking them down.

Dad reached a hand out to help me up after the blast knocked my feet out from under me.

"What the hell was that?!" Steve demanded, looking freaked out.

"That was Andrew's dad crushing the last nerve Andrew had," I stated pissed off at that drunks inability to not hurt his son.

I took off down the hall to where Andrew's room was. The outer walls were blackened with ash and the inside was a hollowed out husk of what it had been. Despite seeing this in a vision, seeing the real thing, feeling it, breathing in the chard air was soul numbing. This whole night was Hell. Everything I had tried to fix about this night was coming true anyway, and there was still one more event on the program.

I didn't care anymore, I was done with subtle this was the night we let our powers out for anyone to see and damn the consequences.

I turned back and saw Steve staring at the room solemnly. This was his best friend off the deep end, and he hadn't helped he had let fear stop him from being there for his friend. Dad was looking at me; he knew what I was going to do. We had talked about this when I had had the vision. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight.

"Go. Do what you have to. And know I'm proud of my tough ass girl. I'll nail the son of a bitch for what his done. The gravy trains over for him," he whispered in my ear. "I know you will. I promise I'll be back with Andrew and I'll call." I swore.

He nodded and let me go. As I was about to take the sky, Steve stepped over to my side. "You going after them?" It was more a statement then a question, I nodded anyway. "Then let's go get em." He said with a shaky grin, and like that we were off.

(With Matt and Andrew)

Andrew did not look good, at all. He was swaying dangerously when I caught up to him after peeling myself off the grill of the bus, before it smacked into the side of a building. I barreled into him at top speed hoping to jar him from the headspace he was stuck in, so I could get him to a quieter place and talk. But it seemed like his power had reached out and amped mine because we jetted off of the roof and into a building, through its wall and out the other side. Slamming to a stop with the concrete breaking our fall.

If it weren't for his barrier training we would have been crush when we hit the first wall. We may powers but we weren't superman. Not even given a second to be thankful my bones were still intact before a cop car came at us. It wouldn't have stopped in time.

Reaching out with my power I pushed to stop it only to have it tip and land belly up, glass shattering around it. Andrew shoved me off of him and scrambled to his feet, his arms out to keep his shaky balance. I could barely catch my breath before he took to the sky again and I desperately followed.

He rammed through a wall of a building then grabbed me with his powers in a full body lock and flung me through the ceiling and what had to be twenty floors of the apartment building we were in and out the roof. Andrew sped ahead of me and when I got close, started throwing cars at me to ward me off.

Car alarms chirped to life as they went airborne, only to become fiery metal heaps when they missed their target. It only stopped when Andrew backed into a street light that popped out and sent him crashing into a car himself and then rolled off onto the ground and didn't get up.

I hesitated to go down to him. So far whenever I had gotten close to him he had whirled and thrown everything he could at me and I was tiring and didn't know how much longer I could keep it up.

A helicopter hovered over us making me aware we had an audience to this, and a timetable. If I didn't get this done soon other people would come and try to sort it out and fail miserably. I dropped down and tried to get him up.

"Andrew?! Andrew, look at me," I shouted. "This is all gonna be okay. You're gonna be alright, okay? I'm gonna get you home, okay? Getcha curled up with Fae, and me and Steve will get you better, alright?"

I wasn't sure if I wanted him to be conscious or not. Not was heavier than I thought and conscious was still a possible danger zone. And at this point I was sure I wasn't the right person to be trying to reason with him but the other two were M.I.A. But it couldn't take them long to find us, everyone in Seattle knew where we were.

Police sirens wailed their arrival, curious and terrified citizens were surrounding us. Nothing good came from cops responding to panicked people.

I stood in front of Andrew making as much of a barrier of myself to protect him from the hostile cops while trying to ward them off. If Andrew woke up and saw a bunch of seriously pissed off cops waving guns and threats around it would push him back into his rage.

I begged them to understand that help would be better than bullets. Through my panic I felt Andrew move behind me but I kept my focus on the guns. Then one of them went off.

Pain; white, hot and sharp speared its way through me. Warm blood, _my blood_, dripped from me and pooled on the ground around me. A scream tore its way out of my throat. Then a bellowing roar sounded behind me, and a wave of energy passed around me and sent every cop car and cop in its way flying backwards violently.

I knew at that sound there was no reasoning with him now, he was lost to the world. Now what could I do to stop him?

(With Steve and Saphira)

"Why is this happening?" Steve shouted over the scream of the wind in our ears as we tore through the air and the sounds of our friends turning Seattle into their own battle ground.

"The Power is taking over," I yelled back. "It thinks it's avenging him. The Power gives us the ability to do amazing things but it also takes on the role of protector. Like when Matt grabbed me after the wreck it thought I was in trouble and flared out and I managed to rein it back, but with Andrew it's not that simple. For someone like Andrew who has spent so much time having been beaten, ignored, and hurt, the Power's protectiveness is working its ass off.

"It wants to protect him from anything that makes him flinch. The wreck was the beginning, the driver was acting hostile and when Andrew went to push him it got rid of him. With the storm, Richard hit him and Andrew felt all those years of being in the dark come at once and the power took anyone in his path as a threat whether they were doing to hurt him or not. That's why it freaked, it got him safe from Richard and you came and realized the secret he had kept to himself all those years. You exposed his fear.

"Tonight Richards has hurt him worse than ever, than Matt went and saved him. Now the power thinks Matt was the real threat the whole time and it's not entirely wrong, he's been no help. If we get him somewhere calm the power will die down and we can fix its why of dealing with things. We can make Andrew more confident and not so scared," I finished.

"You're gonna take him with you and not come back, aren't you?" Steve asked solemnly. Silence was my answer. "I'll say goodbye now then and wish you guys luck."

"Thank you. Now let's break up the family reunion. You get Matt and keep him from us. I'll get Andrew and everyone else to calm down," I said, pushing through the air faster.

(Back with Matt and Andrew)

I flew away first and this time Andrew was the one that followed. Despite flying being the one power I did with ease, Andrew was the faster one. He caught up with minimal effort and wrapped around me like a strait jacket and sent us jiz-zagging through Seattle, pinging off the side of buildings like a pinball, and through any and every sign he could find. Barriers or not when we finally hit the ground we were a notch above lifeless wrecks.

I felt numb yet at the same time felt the pulse of my gunshot beat in time with my heart which by some cruel miracle still worked even after the last two hours.

Red and blue lights flashed behind my eyes, melding into purple at times, it was like being back at the rave we had gone to before all this. The screams and sirens were getting closet I knew, but heard them as if they were under water. I wanted to lie here and do nothing just hope that Steve and Saphira came soon, they were better with Andrew anyway.

I felt him move beside me, pushing himself to his feet. I got to my elbows to see what was happening. At first I thought I had knocked loose something serious in my head, and then I realized the dozens of dots that were floating on Andrew weren't just in my head, but from snipers. And just like that the volume went up.

I heard the officers yelling the standard 'stay-down-or-we'll-shoot' and other variations. I couldn't let them shoot him, not my cousin.

"Andrew! Andrew, stop! Don't hurt them. Andrew!" I screamed. Even with them threatening him I knew he could hurt them first and worse than they could. Sure enough the cops opened fire and the bullets froze in midair just like the baseball had in my backyard. Andrew lunged into his attack, sending a pulse of power out in a circle, hitting all the cops and flinging them back.

(Saphira's pov)

We rounded the corner after the pulse almost sent us into a building. But I could see him now.

He raised his arms. The ground shook at the seams and split apart like an earthquake, knocking cops off their feet, sending cars spinning out and around like toy tops. Dust rose in the air like a fog. The glass windows from the buildings surrounding them cracked and shattered to dust. It was utter pandemonium as the very city shook at the force of our power.

The terrorized cries of the people, who didn't know what was happening, the enraged authority shouts of the police, and the sirens from all around melded into one complete symphony of chaos. And at its center, Andrew caught in the throngs of his power, bellowing his rage at the world that had sat aside and let his abuse go on with no one reaching out to help him when he felt so lost, and Matt, outmatched, hurt, and desperate to stop the destruction around him. Desperate enough to kill to stop it all.

It was time.

(Matt's pov)

I had to stop this. Andrew wasn't listening, he was on the verge of bringing down the whole city with his powers and I couldn't talk him out of it. Not even a barrage of bullets could stop him, he just deflected them back.

Andrew was back up and charging for his next attack on the cops in front of him. Then I saw an out, a statue behind him, with a spear. I wasn't the most precise with my powers but the distance was short and the need was growing with each second. I didn't have a choice. Reaching out I grasped the statues spear and forced it to throw itself at Andrews back…

…but it never reached its mark.

At the last second the spear hooked a hard left and buried itself harmlessly in the ground, at the same time Andrews's body seemed to no longer want hold the weight the powers and collapsed in a heap on the ground.

Then Saphira and Steve dropped out the sky into the plaza. Steve ran over to me as Saphira rushed to Andrew.

"Hey man you okay?" Steve asked frantically, eyes darting over my body looking for injuries and let out a sharp gasp when he found the bullet hole in my leg.

I didn't answer him; I focused on the pair in front of me in case Andrew woke up and started his rein again.

Saphira looked at him with heartbreak, worry and despite all the carnage around us, love. She still loved him after the chaos around us. She ghosted her hands over his body, her sharp eyes alert to the smallest details to the boy in front of her.

Not satisfied but sure of what damaged had been done to Andrew she moved him to his side to ease a few of his injures as she stood with a look of grim determination. She turned and looked at me. That look, the emotion and deep thought in those two eyes sent across the plaza.

What had I almost done?

I had tried to kill my cousin. I had saved his father despite knowing the man had hurt Andrew before multiple times. I had pushed him away when he needed someone to talk to about that and about his mom but I hadn't. I had hurt him as much as his dad did over the past couple of years.

What if she hadn't been there that night we went to the rock? What if she hadn't had feelings for Andrew and stayed by him? Would his dad have beaten him to death either by his fists or made him feel so dead inside already he cut to the chase? Would I have sent a stone spear into his back and killed him because I had failed at every possible chance to reach out and help him before we got to this point and was now so desperate to just have it all stop?

I felt bile rise in my throat at the thought of the murderer I had almost become.

"Hey Matty," Saphira called out, a twisting smirk curling at her lips. "I did it," she announced pleased. Even without the haze of pain my fight with Andrew, the bullet wound, the mental and emotional exhaustion from all I had done or was about to do I still wouldn't have guessed what she talking about.

But it didn't matter, because she eased Andrew off the ground and held him close to her and then between one breath and the next…both of them were gone.

As always Review plzplzplzplzplzplz


	9. The Prestige

…_You have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call… 'the Prestige'._

***Four yrs later***

It's amazing what people will believe to avoid the truth. Charlie had called in backup in the form of his brother Harvey and his assistant Mike Ross to help gloss over Andrew and I turning downtown Seattle into our own active war zone.

Together they spun a vivid tale worthy of movies yet at the same time made it totally believable. A stunning combo of gang war, with drugged air and neither confirmed or denied movie shootings at the same time. The world ate it up and went on with their 'normal' lives and eventually it was just an urban legend.

Karen kicked that drunken bastards ass both at home and in court sending him away for sixty years for endangering the welfare of a minor, assault of a minor, aggravated assault, drunken disorderly conduct and, because Charlie is a scary mo-fo when he's pissed and you threaten his daughters happiness by hurting the love of her life, attempted murder.

After graduation Steve and I went on our round the world trip like we had planned when it was still the four of us. Only it wasn't to goof off and have fun we went to find Saphira and Andrew. Charlie paid for everything but told us to have fun and not bother with looking.

I couldn't believe he didn't want to know if his daughter and Andrew were okay, if they were ever coming home. I said as much- or yelled as much- to him and he just smiled and said he already knew they were fine but didn't say how. Which may have been fine for him but we needed to see them to believe it.

We went everywhere we thought they would be even places we thought they would hate. But it was always the same result, no sign anywhere. It was like they had vanished off the face of the earth.

Finally we had to bitterly admit defeat and come back to reality and deal with our own lives. Steve had gone to a good college for his politics and campaigned against anti-bulling and abusive parents. I went to a small college for kid's counseling to help them have a voice that usually went unheard.

In all this we never forgot why we were doing this. Never forget our inspiration to make the difference in people's lives. Never stopped hoping if we helped enough the other half of our group would find its way back home.

On the fourth anniversary of the night we all came together and had our lives change, Steve and I went back to the hole. We hadn't used our powers much since the fight just little small things for when we were doing a million things at once and needed more hands or non-hands really. Sometimes a little one hour flight to leave the problems of our lives on the ground and be weightless for one second.

The area hadn't been touched by time like everything else had. It was still the same as when we woke up in it the morning after and Saphira hotwired my car. That night seemed like a different lifetime ago.

But there was one difference in the field. There was someone else already there.

He looked different, a good different. The stress and sad frown lines were gone from his face, the near constant purple exhausted smudges under his eyes were gone as well. His eyes had changed the most, there wasn't a single trace of depressed anger, soul tearing sadness, or resigned acceptance of the shit in his life. There was only contentment, joy, and happiness. But it was still our Andrew.

"What, no hug for your old cameraman?" he grinned.

Steve was already moving to give him a flying hug tackle before he could finish, with me right behind him. Together we knocked him to the ground laughing like the idiots we had been on our flights.

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. Looking up, Saphira was still as beautiful as always with the same mischievous gleam in her eyes like she always had the upper hand in anything and couldn't hold it back. "Don't damage the husband," she scolded, but the grin took the seriousness out of it.

"You two tied it," Steve cheered. "I thought I was gonna be the best man," he said pouting.

"You kind were, we had a picture of you there. Does that count?" Andrew teased, nudging Steve on the shoulder. The four years had been good for him not just in physical sense he was more relaxed and confident but then his _wife _was the picture of those things.

"You two been okay?" I asked timidly. Last time I talked to either of them I had been trying to kill Andrew.

"Oh yeah tried to go on that world trip we planned. But after the time in Tibet we kind of settled in London and forgot the rest. London's like European New York," Saphira smiled.

"Yeah the three of us have been great," Andrew agreed gazing at the woman like she had hung the moon. Which given how much she had changed in him it was like that.

There was a pause as his words sunk in.

"Wha- three? You said three?" I stammered out. The two just grinned like nut cases.

"Yeah me, Saphira, and our boy, Alec," Andrew confirmed gesturing to his wife.

Looking down at her hip a small hand was gripping the hem of her shirt and peering out at us. The boy was like the perfect combo of them both. Saphira's black midnight hair, nose and the slight up-to-no-good light in his eyes with Andrew's spring blue sky color eye's and slight face.

"Go on honey say 'Hi' to your uncle Matty," she coaxed. At first the boy didn't move then he slowly stepped away from his mother's side, his face taking on that determined edge that made his mother famous with us. He lifted one foot to make the first step to his family members and then he _lifted_ off the ground completely and_ flew_ over the ten feet to land right in front of us.

He paused staring at our stunned selves. Then with a big grin he shouted excitedly like all kids his age do. "Hi, Uncle Matty!"

Fin

There you go. Peace is DONE! WHOO. I am so proud that I'm done with my first multi-chap fic.

Here's where my muse has demanded I take my writing and Saphira next…..SUPERNATURAL. OH YEAH!

I'm so jazzed up to go for it. I'm gonna start after the mystery spot and work my way up. Hopefully I can keep to canon while adding Saphira in and have Destiel and Sabriel. I never thought I could know a love stronger then Janto but then these boys came in and stole my heart. Wish me luck.

As always Review plzplzplzplzplz.


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